Schedium

European Parliament (photo by David Iliff. CC-BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons) Austrian EU lawmaker Claudia Schmidt has apologized for publishing a racist Facebook post  claiming that "African and Muslim culture" are incompatible with European culture, and calling for a complete ban on African immigrants. Schmidt is a member of the ruling Austrian People's Party (Österreichische Volkspartei; ÖVP) and a lawmaker in the European Union parliament.  In the controversial post, which has now been deleted, Schmidt wrote : "One can read it daily in the press, and I have experienced it myself in refugee camps and while monitoring elections. Neither African nor Muslim culture are compatible with our culture." Schmidt argued that "Africans" and "Muslims" cannot be integrated into European societies and their immigration must be stopped altogether. "I view arbitrary mass migration from places that have alien cultures (kulturfremden ...

Taiwan's defensive capabilities continue to decline as China prepares for a possible conflict, according to the United States Department of Defense 2018 Annual Report to Congress on military and security developments involving the People's Republic of China (PRC).  The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is undergoing the most comprehensive reform in its history to become a force capable of conducting complex joint operations, the report says. The PLA aims at developing the capabilities to fight and win "informatized local wars" - regional conflicts based on data-networked command and control and precision strikes.  China's Taiwan strategy continues to incorporate elements of both persuasion and coercion to hinder the development of political attitudes in Taiwan favoring independence, the report says. Beijing attempts to restrict Taiwan's role in the international community and international organizations, and it seeks to woo Taiwan's few diplomati...

85C store in Shanghai (by Tzuhsun Hsu , via Wikimedia Commons China said that private companies are not allowed to support Taiwan independence if they want to do business in the country.  On August 16 Long Mingbiao (龙明彪), deputy director of the  Taiwan Affairs Office , the Chinese agency tasked with implementing the Communist Party's Taiwan policy, slammed companies that support Taiwan independence .  "We welcome Taiwanese companies' investment and development on the mainland, but we will absolutely not allow any company to make money on the mainland while at the same time supporting Taiwan independence forces and activities," Long said. Those remarks came after Chinese netizens called for a boycott of the Taiwanese company 85C Bakery and Cafe, which they accused of supporting Taiwan independence.  On August 14 Taiwanese President Ts'ai Ing-wen had visited an 85C cafe in Los Angeles during her stopover in the United States en route to Parag...

35C store in Songshan, Taipei (by 玄史生 via Wikimedia Commons ) Taiwan's 85°C Bakery Cafe was forced to apologize and state its adherence to the 'one-China principle' after a visit by Taiwanese President Ts'ai Ing-wen to a store in Los Angeles infuriated Chinese netizens. This week Taiwan's President Ts'ai Ing-wen made a trip to the United States en route to Paraguay. During her stopover Ts'ai met with US lawmakers and Taiwanese-Americans. She also gave a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, the first time in 15 years a Taiwanese leader has spoken publicly in the US.  Ts'ai's visit drew criticism from China, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory. Beijing has vowed to bring about "reunification" by force if all peaceful options were exhausted.  On August 14 Ts'ai went to a 85°C store in Los Angeles, where an employee gave her a gift package and asked her to sign a pillow....

Residential high-rise buildings, Hong Kong Island On August 14 the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) released new statistics showing that the Hong Kong population has reached 7 448 900 at mid-2018, an increase of 57 200 or 0.8% from 7 391 700 last year.  From mid-2017 to mid-2018 there was a net inflow of 49 600 persons, of whom 41 000 were One-way Permit holders and 8 500 were other Hong Kong residents. One-way Permit holders is a term that refers to person from mainland China. Mainland residents who wish to settle in Hong Kong must apply for Permits for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao, commonly known as One-way Permits (OWPs). The C&SD population statistics measure the Resident Population, which comprises Usual Residents and Mobile Residents. The term Usual Residents refers to two categories of people: 1) Hong Kong Permanent Residents who have stayed in Hong Kong for at least thr...

Michael Avenatti, the California lawyer representing porn star Stormy Daniels, is considering running for president on the Democratic ticket in 2020. “I believe that the Democratic Party must be a party that fights fire with fire,” he told Iowa Democrats at a fundraising dinner on August 10. “When they go low, I say we hit harder."  But does he have what it takes to defeat Trump and become the next Commander-in-Chief? In an interview on "This Week" Sunday with ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl, Avenatti was unable to answer simple questions regarding economic and foreign policy.  "Would you repeal all of the Trump tax cuts?" Karl asked Avenatti. "I haven't decided yet. I'm still analyzing the issue," he said.  Embed from Getty Images Karl then asked Avenatti what the biggest national security threat facing the United States right now is.  "I think it would be the situation in the Middle Ea...

Peter Strzok was fired on Friday after serving in the FBI for 21 years, his lawyer Aitan Goelman said in a statement. "The decision to fire Special Agent Strzok is not only a departure from typical Bureau practice, but also contradicts (FBI) Director (Christopher) Wray's testimony to Congress and his assurances that the FBI intended to follow its regular process in this and all personnel matters," Goelman stated. Republican legislators and right-wing media had accused Strzok of anti-Trump bias , yet failed to provide any evidence that his personal opinions had influenced the way he carried out his duties as FBI agent. Embed from Getty Images “Let me be clear, unequivocally and under oath, not once in my 26 years of defending my nation did my personal opinions impact any official action I took,”  Strzok said in his opening statement before a joint hearing of the House judiciary and oversight and government reform committees in July.  “I have the u...

Tsinghua University, main administrative building (by pfctdayelise via Wikimedia Commons ) German journalism student David Missal has been expelled from China after he filmed a documentary about human rights activists.  The 24-year-old was pursuing a master's programme at the prestigious Tsinghua University, in the Chinese capital Beijing. But on Sunday, August 12, he left the country after Chinese immigration authorities shortened his residence permit and denied him a visa extension.  Missal told Hong Kong Free Press that he had applied for a visa extension two months ago. On August 10 he went to the Entry-Exit Administration and was informed that his visa would not be renewed because he had engaged in activities that were not covered by his student visa. He was told that he had ten days to leave the country. “I asked them what kind of activities did I do… and they said you should know by yourself,” Missal said. He had received a DAAD scholarship for two year...

A group of Chinese dissidents has founded a new party that challenges the dictatorship of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and advocates Shanghai independence.  Since Xi Jinping took office in 2012, the Chinese government has tightened its grip on civil society and the media, cracking down on free speech , hardening its stance towards Taiwan and launching an all-out assault on Uighur society. However, the Party's increasingly oppressive policies are causing a backlash.  In the United States a group of Chinese dissidents have formed the Shanghai National Party  (上海民族黨), also called Humindang (滬民黨), from the character Hu (滬), the short name for Shanghai.  「上海民族黨」在紐約成立 反共並要求上海獨立 https://t.co/KQEzGIEDqg pic.twitter.com/IHOwIeuUKe — RFI 華語 - 法國國際廣播電台 (@RFI_TradCn) August 12, 2018 The party, registered on July 18 in New York, United States, promotes the overthrow of the Communist regime and the independence of Shanghai. The slogan of the party is...

The Palace of Westminster (by via Wikimedia Commons) Remainers are losing their struggle to stop Brexit. Although public opinion seems to back a second referendum , Theresa May's conservative government is determined to leave the European Union, while Labour's leader Jeremy Corbyn has so far shown no willingness to oppose the right-wing implementation of the 2016 referendum.  The Liberal Democrats, the major anti-Brexit political force, have proven to be ineffective, in some instances acting sloppily. Back in July, for instance, the former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron and his successor, Vince Cable, failed to show up in parliament to vote on two amendments tabled by hardline Brexiters. The amendments passed by a slim margin.  So how can Brexit be stopped? The answer is: remainers need to resort to more decisive tactics.  If their demands to hold a second Brexit referendum are rejected on the grounds that there has already been such a vote and Lea...

The map of  China  on the website of the United States Department of State shows Taiwan as being part of Chinese territory.  Taiwan (officially Republic of China , ROC) has never been de facto or de jure controlled by the People's Republic of China (PRC). Nevertheless, Beijing insists that Taiwan is part of its territory and it has vowed to use force to achieve "reunification" if all peaceful options were exhausted.  China has oftentimes urged the Taiwanese government to adhere to the so-called " 1992 consensus ", according to which there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of it. But Taiwanese President Ts'ai Ing-wen has refused to endorse Beijing's position and is seeking to maintain the status quo of de facto independence.  During the Sino-American negotiations that took place in the 1970s, Beijing requested that the United States broke off diplomatic relations with the ROC. In August 1977 Cyrus Vance, Jimmy Carte...

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) (by Voice of America via Wikimedia Commons ) The Taiwanese Foreign Ministry has deleted from its official account a tweet that mocked China for blocking the release of Christopher Robin , a live-action drama about Winnie the Pooh . According to the Hollywood Reporter,  the Chinese government  has not allowed the Disney film to be screened in the country. The report cited Beijing's crackdown on images of the Winnie the Pooh character as the reason for the ban. On August 8 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) posted on its official  Twitter  account a tweet mocking China's ban on Winnie the Pooh.  " Taiwan 's #OhBear is dismayed at the ban slapped on his cousin Winnie's latest film by censors in #China. Make no mistake: All bears are created equal in #Taiwan & @DisneyCRobin is screening nationwide," the tweet read.  OhBear  is...

A survey shows that the majority of white Europeans associate faces of black people with negative ideas.  According to a study by Harvard's Project Implicit , based on scores for 288,076 white Europeans, collected between 2002 and 2015, most white people in European countries have an implicit racial bias towards black individuals.  The above map illustrates the average Implicit Association Test (IAT) score for each country. The redder the colour, the more widespread is racial bias.  The test shows that white Europeans are faster to associate Blackness with negative concepts such as "Bad" and "Evil", and slower to associate it with positive ideas such as "Good" and "Nice", revealing implicit attitudes and automatic associations in people's minds.  Although the levels of racial bias vary across the continent, no European country received a score below zero, which indicates a positive attitude towards black people. 

My Name My Right crowdfunding page, via Facebook  A group of Taiwanese exchange students in Norway have sued the Norwegian government, demanding that the nationality on their visas be changed from "China" to "Taiwan".  After Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2010, Beijing-Oslo relations froze. In 2016 the two sides normalized ties, but Norway had to pledge to adhere to the Communist regime's " one-China policy ".  China views Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to bring about "reunification" by force if all peaceful options are exhausted.    Taiwanese exchange students in Norway are protesting the fact that on Norwegian visas their nationality is listed as "China" and not as " Taiwan ".  Beijing often uses its diplomatic and economic influence to promote its "one-China" principle. For instance, it recently forced airlines to list Taiwan as part of China...

Chinese actress and model Fan Bingbing has allegedly been banned from the film industry for 3 years following allegations of tax evasion.  Last May TV anchor Cui Yongyuan accused Fan Bingbing of signing "yin-yang contracts", a term referring to the illegal practice among Chinese film stars of hiding part of their income by signing two contracts for the same work and declaring to the authorities only one contract.  After Cui's revelation, China's tax authority launched a probe into the film industry. Late last month rumours spread on Chinese social media that Fan Bingbing and her younger brother Fan Chengcheng had been arrested . The actress also disappeared from social media . Embed from Getty Images According to Taiwan-based Apple Daily , Chinese authorities have banned Fan Bingbing from the film industry for 3 years. During this period she will not be allowed to shoot movies or TV series.  The Liberty Times further reports that China 's t...

Obama-Putin meeting in Mexico, 2012 (official White House photo by Pete Souza) On August 5 conservative Fox News host Laura Ingraham criticized people who are obsessed with Russia. "As we obsess about Russia," she wrote in a Tweet, "China rising: Our greatest rival and a growing threat." As we obsess abt Russia—> China Rising: Our greatest rival and a growing threat https://t.co/ZLeoDlbuS9 — Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) August 5, 2018 Though Ingraham is right about the growing China threat , both economically and militarily, her criticism of those who want to protect the United States and the West from Russian election interference sounds hypocritical. Only a few years ago, Laura Ingraham and Fox and Friends hosts criticized Obama's foreign policy for being too weak on Russia. And they slammed former Secretary of State John Kerry, who in a televised interview  had stated: "I think that candidate Romney has been breathtak...