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Category: East Asia
Nearly 3 million Chinese restaurants, cafes shut down
China has seen nearly 3 million restaurants, cafes and other catering outlets shut down in the past year with many going bankrupt.
Myanmar junta bombs rebel-held town in Shan state killing 8
Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Myanmar’s military bombed a town in Shan state under rebel control killing eight people days after striking a ceasefire with an allied group that also operates in the northeastern state, the group in control of the bombed town said. The junta that seized power in a 2021 coup has been under major pressure from its insurgent enemies over the past year losing large areas of territory, military bases and major towns. The military has repeatedly called for talks over the past few months while at the same time unleashing its air force in devastating attacks on insurgents and the towns and villages they control, killing numerous civilians, rights group says. The latest junta air raid to inflict heavy casualties was in the town of Nawnghkio, which is under the control of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, or TNLA, in Shan state. “Near Parami Teashop, the junta dropped two bombs back to back from a jet at around 11 a.m.,” the TNLA said in a statement after the strike on Wednesday. At least three women were among the dead and two houses and a police station were destroyed, it said. RFA tried to contact Shan state’s junta spokesperson, Khun Thein Maung, by telephone for comment but he did not respond. Destruction from an airstrike in Myanmar’s Nawnghkio town, seen on Jan. 22, 2025.(Thein Aung- Facebook) A resident of Nawnghkio, which is 90 kilometers, or 55 miles, northeast of the city of Mandalay, told Radio Free Asia the tea shop was obliterated and staff, customers and passers-by were among the dead. “The bomb hit right on the teashop as the family was cleaning up,” said the resident, who declined to be identified for safety reasons, referring to the people who ran the shop. “There were some people sitting around and a girl who works there was torn to pieces.” The military then fired artillery at Nawnghkio from the direction of the junta-controlled town of Pyin Oo Lwin, residents said. RELATED STORIES Myanmar military regime enters year 5 in terminal decline Two-thirds of residents flee Myanmar beach town as rebels battle junta troops Myanmar junta kills 28, including its own soldiers, in prison attack It was the second airstrike on the town in about 24 hours. One person was killed and two were wounded in a strike on an administrative office and the town hall on Tuesday, the TNLA said earlier. The TNLA, fighting for autonomy for the Ta’ang, or Palaung, people has emerged as a powerful force in Shan state and was part of a three-group alliance that went on a coordinated offensive in October 2024, scoring major victories against junta forces, including the capture of Nawnghkio. Another member of the Three Brotherhood alliance, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, struck a ceasefire with the junta on Saturday after talks brokered by China. While calling for talks, the junta chief also vowed late last year to re-capture territory lost in Shan state. Many insurgent groups have rejected the calls for talks, saying it is a ploy by the military which is trying to secure more areas in preparation for an election expected late this year that the generals hope will bolster their legitimacy. Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika
China, Mekong countries agree to combat scam centers, arms trafficking
Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. The six Mekong River countries are working together to combat online scamming and arms dealing in the interests of their security, China’s embassy in Myanmar said, as authorities renew efforts to tackle a problem that is causing growing alarm across the region. The rescue of a Chinese actor and several other victims this month from an online scam center in eastern Myanmar has shone a spotlight on the criminal gangs running fraud, money-laundering and human trafficking operations from some of the more lawless corners of the region. The scam centers proliferated in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted casinos. Thousands of people have been lured by false job offers and then forced to work defrauding victims online in complexes often run by ethnic Chinese gangsters, human rights groups say. China, which is also home to many of the victims of the scammers, has been organizing action to tackle the problem with its southern neighbors, most recently at a meeting in the city of Kunming, in China’s Yunnan southern border province. “The operation brings together the law enforcement resources of various countries and is an effective cooperative force in the fight against telecommunications fraud and arms smuggling in the region,” China’s embassy in Myanmar said in a statement on Tuesday. “All parties unanimously agreed that regional security and stability were effectively protected,” it said. In 2025, members of the Lancang-Mekong Integrated Law Enforcement and Security Cooperation Center – China, Myanmar, Thailand Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam – will begin the second phase of an operation against the criminals, the embassy said. It did not give details of what it would entail. The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army hands over 337 telecom and internet fraud suspects to Chinese police on Oct. 7, 2023.(Kokang News) RELATED STORIES Scammers lure jobseeking Hong Kongers to Myanmar from Japan, Taiwan Is Laos actually tackling its vast scam Industry? Myanmar border militia emerges as nexus in regional scam network From August to December, Operation Zin Yaw resulted in a collective 160 cases cracking down on telecommunications fraud, in which more than 70,000 criminals were arrested and 160 victims were rescued, the embassy said. Myanmar authorities have said the large majority of suspects detained in raids are from China. China can provide “effective protection” against both arms smuggling and online fraud, the embassy said. The recent abduction and rescue from an eastern Myanmar enclave on the Thai border of Chinese actor Wang Xing, and model Yang Zeqi, has attracted media attention across the region and raised public alarm about safety. Thailand has seen a rash of group tour cancellations for the upcoming Lunar New Year and its government has promised action to protect its economically important tourist industry. The leaders of militias loyal to Myanmar’s junta and the operators of online scam centers announced this month that they had agreed to stop forced labor and fraud after coming under pressure from Thailand and the Myanmar military, sources close to the militia groups said. “The threat posed by the scam gangs is large – if you read the newspapers you know – so something needs to be done,” said Aung Thu Nyein, a member of the Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar think tank. Myanmar’s exiled parallel National Unity Government said in a statement on Monday it and other anti-junta groups would work with neighboring countries to suppress the scam centers. Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika
Myanmar junta and insurgents sign ceasefire brokered by China
Read RFA coverage of of Chinese trade for weeks, sources in the region said. “Food products can be sent and received normally,” Nyi Yan, a liaison officer with the United Wa State Army, another militia force based in Shan state, told RFA. “China also eased restrictions on the import of fuel into Wa administrative regions on Sunday night.” Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika
Beijing sees Trump presidency as ‘critical’ juncture for Sino-US ties
Beijing views the second presidency of Donald Trump as a “critical” juncture that could improve ties with the United States, according to official commentaries in state media. “The river of history is constantly flowing, and the critical points are often just a few steps,” the People’s Daily, official newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, said in an op-ed published on Monday, the Trump’s inauguration date. Describing the international situation as “full of change and chaos,” the article said the bilateral relationship should be managed from a “strategic and long-term perspective, which will bring more certainty to a turbulent world.” “China-U.S. relations are the most important bilateral relations in the world … affecting the future and destiny of mankind,” the commentary said, citing a need for more exchanges between the Chinese and American people. “Both sides need to move towards each other,” it said. The official commentaries come amid multiple media reports that Trump plans to visit China within 100 days of taking office, and that a face-to-face meeting with Xi is on the cards. Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, who attended Trump’s inauguration ceremony on behalf of Xi Jinping, met with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance on Jan. 19 to discuss various bilateral issues including fentanyl, trade balance and regional stability. Two Taiwanese Kuang Hua VI-class missile boats conduct a simulated attack drill off Kaohsiung City, southern Taiwan, Jan. 9, 2025.(Chiang Ying-ying/AP) Current affairs commentator Wu Qiang said a more domestically focused approach to global cooperation is actually something that is shared by China and the Trump administration, and that the relationship would likely improve with more direct contact between Trump and Xi. “At the very least, they can balance the relationship by strengthening the relationship between their individual leaders,” Wu said. “This is the kind of strengthening that is welcomed by the leaders of China and also Russia.” He said such relationships would act as a “parallel” axis of international cooperation, alongside the China-Russia alliance and the U.S. relationship with allies NATO, Europe and Southeast Asia. Russia, Trade Commentator Yuan Hongbing said Trump’s plan to visit China is likely part of a bid to get Beijing’s help with a ceasefire in Ukraine. “The fundamental reason he is now showing goodwill towards Xi Jinping is that he wants to meet his diplomatic commitments,” Yuan said. “Russia is already in a position of advantage on the battlefield.” But trade is also likely high on the agenda, according to Yuan and a veteran Chinese journalist who gave only the surname Kong for fear of reprisals. “It’s part of the plan to make America great again,” Kong said, referencing Trump’s slogan. “He believes that the trade deficit has had an impact on the U.S. economy.” “But what kind of pressure he will bring to bear … that will be a key focus of his trip to China.” Sun Kuo-hsiang, director of Taiwan’s Nanhua University, said Taiwan could see its defense concerns drop further down the list of U.S. priorities under Trump. “During his first term, Trump put a strong emphasis on transactional diplomacy, and so he may use Taiwan as leverage, for example, reducing arms sales or limiting official contacts, in exchange for concessions from China on trade or international issues,” Sun told RFA Mandarin in a recent interview. He said that could undermine Taiwan’s ability to defend itself in the event of a Chinese invasion. “If Sino-U.S. ties ease, then China may believe that the United States has softened on Taiwan, and step up its military and diplomatic activities,” Sun said. “That will bring far more uncertainty to the situation in the Taiwan Strait.” Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika
Thailand Faces Backlash Over Plans to Deport 48 Uyghurs to China
Thailand faces global backlash for plans to deport 48 Uyghur detainees to China, sparking protests and raising concerns over human rights violations and international law obligations.
Myanmar military regime enters year 5 in terminal decline
Myanmar’s military approaches the fourth anniversary of the coup d’etat that put them in power in terminal decline. The economy continues to atrophy, with even . Further south, the Karen National Liberation Army and allied people’s defense forces (PDFs) are slowly taking pro-junta border guard posts along the frontier with Thailand. In Tanintharyi, local PDFs have increased their coordination and are pushing west from the Thai border towards the Andaman Sea coast, diminishing the scope of the military-controlled patchwork of terrain in Myanmar’s southernmost state. Some of the most intense fighting of late has been in the Bamar heartland, including Sagaing, Magway, and Mandalay. The military has stepped up their bombings, artillery strikes, and arson, that killed 52, wounded over 40 and destroyed 500 homes, had no military utility. Finally, the state of the economy is even more precarious given the loss of almost all border crossings. RELATED STORIES Chinese aid cannot overcome Myanmar junta’s declining finances and morale Perhaps it would be better if Myanmar’s civil war became a ‘forgotten conflict’ Myanmar’s junta answers rebel proposal for talks with week of deadly airstrikes Although the SAC technically still controls Muse and Myawaddy, which links them to China and Thailand, respectively, opposition forces control much of the surrounding territory. While Karen forces have not made a bid to take Myawaddy, the main border crossing, they are pinching in along Asia Highway 1 to Yangon. On Jan. 11, some 500 reinforcements in 30 armored personnel carriers were deployed from Hpa-An to Kawkareik in Kayan state near the Thai border to keep the last main overland trade artery open. To sum it up, the junta is entering the fifth year of military rule with its power rapidly slipping away. Although they still control one-third of the country – land that holds two-thirds of the population – their mismanagement of the economy has left the military regime broke. Spread too thin across too many fronts simultaneously, it’s hard to see the SAC doing anything to arrest their terminal decline in 2025. Zachary Abuza is a professor at the National War College in Washington and an adjunct at Georgetown University. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of the U.S. Department of Defense, the National War College, Georgetown University or Radio Free Asia. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika
China hiding Deaths in disastrous Tibet Earthquake
China hiding the death toll in Tibet Earthquake in which 61,000 people are affected with at least 47,000 forcibly relocated.
What is the RedNote app and why are TikTok users moving there? | RFA Insider #24
The double features don’t stop! Tune in to this episode of RFA Insider to learn about American social media users turning to a Chinese app in response to an impending TikTok ban, and how China is preparing for the incoming U.S. administration. Off Beat With TikTok slated to be banned on Sunday unless it is sold to a new, non-Chinese owner, young American users of the app have migrated en masse to Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote. The more than half a million American users who’ve joined RedNote in recent days, dubbing themselves “TikTok refugees,” hope to relocate their online communities and for some, send a strong message to Meta and its founder Mark Zuckerberg. Family photos, presumably taken in August 2024 and March 2023, found with the bodies of North Korean troops killed in the Ukraine-Russia war.(NK Insider) RFA’s own Korean Service also conducted an exclusive interview with a Ukrainian soldier sharing his battlefield encounter with North Korean soldiers. Double Off Beat As Washington, D.C. makes the final arrangements for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next Monday, countries around the world are similarly preparing for the new U.S. administration. Senior reporter Kitty Wang from RFA’s Mandarin Service comes on the podcast to share insight into how China might react to the new administration. Then-U.S. President Donald Trump (left) attends a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019.(Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) What’s the overall mood in China regarding Trump’s possible implementation of tariffs? Will Beijing alter its stance on either Taiwan or the South China Sea while working with this new administration? What about the Uyghur region and Tibet? Tune in to hear these answers and more. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika
In bilateral talks, Philippines complains about China’s ‘monster’ ship in EEZ waters
MANILA — Senior Philippine diplomats confronted Chinese counterparts in face-to-face talks about China’s “monster” coast guard ship intruding into Manila’s territorial waters, as the two sides met to discuss the hot-button issue of the South China Sea. Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro led the Philippine delegation in the 10th Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea, or BCM, which took place on Thursday in the Chinese city of Xiamen. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong headed the Chinese delegation in the BCM, a series of bilateral talks that were started in 2017 with the aim of lowering tensions between the two countries – rival claimants – over the contested waterway. The Philippine side expressed “serious concern” about the presence and activities of China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels lately within Manila’s exclusive economic zone, or EEZ, including the 12,000-ton ship, dubbed “The Monster.” CCG 5901, the world’s largest coast guard ship, had been spotted patrolling the resource-rich Scarborough Shoal area in recent days and waters off the coast of Luzon, the main island in the Philippines. Manila had already lodged protests and diplomatic complaints about the ship’s intimidating presence in Philippine-claimed waters. Earlier this week, a Philippine National Security official said China was “pushing us to the wall” as he indicated that Manila was considering pursuing a new lawsuit against Beijing over the South China Sea. While CCG 5901 had not carried out any dangerous maneuvers so far, Philippine officials said its activities within Manila’s waters were not backed by any international law, according to a statement from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs. “Our position is clear and consistent, but so is our willingness to engage in dialogue. We firmly believe that despite the unresolved challenges and differences, there is genuine space for diplomatic and pragmatic cooperation in dealing with our issues in the South China Sea,” the statement quoted Lazaro as saying at the meeting. China’s actions were “inconsistent” with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, which both Manila and Beijing had signed, and the recently passed Philippine Maritime Zones Act, according to the Philippine foreign office. Beijing earlier said that the presence of its ships in Scarborough was “fully justified,” reiterating its jurisdiction over the shoal. “We call on the Philippines once again to immediately stop all infringement activities, provocations and false accusations, and stop all its actions that jeopardize peace and stability and complicate the situation in the South China Sea,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday. This photo, released by the Philippine Coast Guard, shows Chinese Coast Guard ship 5901 sailing in the South China Sea, Jan. 15, 2025.(Philippine Coast Guard) Located about 125 nautical miles (232 km) from Luzon island, Scarborough Shoal – known as Bajo de Masinloc in the Philippines – has been under China’s de facto control since 2012. Beijing’s possession of the shoal forced Manila to file a lawsuit at the world court in The Hague. Four years later, an international arbitration tribunal ruled in Manila’s favor but Beijing has never acknowledged that decision, insisting on its historical claims over the waterway. Another flashpoint At Thursday’s meeting, the two sides also agreed to keep implementing a “provisional understanding” regarding Philippine resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre, a decrepit World War II-era military ship stationed in Second Thomas (Ayungin) Shoal, another disputed South China Sea feature. CCG vessels had been regularly blocking Philippine ships carrying supplies and troops to the shoal. But the two countries arrived at a provisional agreement in July, following a dramatic standoff the previous month between Filipino servicemen and CCG personnel at Second Thomas Shoal, during which a Philippine serviceman lost a finger. Philippine and Chinese officials, however, have not yet publicly disclosed the official document of the agreement or its details, with both sides making their own claims about the deal’s contents. RELATED STORIES Philippines on Chinese incursions: Not ruling out another South China Sea lawsuit China says ‘monster’ ship’s presence near Scarborough Shoal ‘fully justified’ Philippines says China’s ‘monster’ ship on a mission to intimidate At the talks on Thursday, both sides acknowledged the deal’s “positive outcomes” and “agreed to continue its implementation to sustain the de-escalation of tensions without prejudice to respective national positions,” Manila’s foreign office said. Both sides also “agreed to reinvigorate the platform for coast guard cooperation” but no specific details were provided. In 2016, under then-President Rodrigo Duterte who adopted a pro-Beijing policy, the two nations’ coast guards formed the Joint Coast Guard Committee (JCGC), establishing a hotline between the two maritime law enforcement agencies. In January 2023, amid increasing tensions in the disputed waters, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to set up a communication line between their foreign ministries. But a few months later, Manila officials said that China could not be reached in times of high tensions at sea. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika
