HONG KONG - Pro-democracy protesters marched in Hong Kong on Sunday to call for greater political freedoms in China and an end to one-party rule, ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
Organisers said 3,000 people took to the streets in sweltering heat for the annual protest, calling on Beijing to release imprisoned political dissidents and formally acknowledge the bloody crackdown of 1989. Hong Kong police put the number of protesters lower at 1,900.
It comes ahead of a mass candle-lit vigil planned for Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in which hundreds of people, by some estimates more than 1,000, died.
China still forbids public discussion of the events of June 3-4 1989 when the military brutally suppressed pro-democracy protesters, mainly students, in central Beijing.
Hong Kong is the only city in China to mark the anniversary openly.
An official Chinese Communist Party assessment after the Tiananmen protests branded the movement a "counter-revolutionary rebellion"."
AND
"China denounces US, Japan for "provocative" remarks - AFP 01 June 2014
SINGAPORE: China strongly denounced Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and United States Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel Sunday for "provocative" remarks accusing Beijing of destabilising actions in contested regional waters.
Lieutenant General Wang Guanzhong, deputy chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), told an Asian security forum in Singapore that the comments had been "unacceptable".
Abe opened the Shangri-La Dialogue on Friday by urging countries to respect the rule of law -- an apparent reference to perceived Chinese aggression over disputed islets in the South and East China seas.
Hagel followed on Saturday by warning China against "destabilising actions" in the South China Sea and listed a number of alleged infractions, including against the Philippines and Vietnam.
"The Chinese delegation... have this feeling that the speeches of Mr Abe and Mr Hagel are a provocative action against China," said Wang, dressed in full military regalia.
He cast aside his prepared speech and said he needed to respond to the remarks, accusing Abe and Hagel of "coordinating" with each other to attack China at the conference.
"This is simply unimaginable," said Wang, the highest ranking military official in the Chinese delegation, adding that the speeches were "unacceptable and not in the spirit of this Shangri-La Dialogue".
"The speeches made by Mr Abe and Mr Hagel gave me the impression that they coordinated with each other, they supported each other, they encouraged each other and they took the advantage of speaking first... and staged provocative actions and challenges against China," he said.
"In recent months, China has undertaken destabilising, unilateral actions asserting its claims in the South China Sea," the Pentagon chief said.
He accused China of restricting the Philippines' access to Scarborough Shoal, putting pressure on Manila's long-standing presence in Second Thomas Shoal, beginning land reclamation at various locations and moving an oil rig into disputed waters with Vietnam.
"The United States will not look the other way when fundamental principles of the international order are being challenged," he warned.
Abe pledged that his country would play a larger role in promoting peace in Asia, as his administration moves to reshape the Japanese military's purely defensive stance.
Laying out a vision of Tokyo as a counterweight to the growing might of China but without naming any country, Abe offered Japan's help to regional allies "to ensure security of the seas and skies".
He said Japan and the US stood ready to bolster security cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to promote peace.
Wang said he preferred Hagel's directness by directly naming China, compared to Abe who did not mention any country.
"If I am to compare the attitude of the two leaders, I would prefer the attitude of Mr Hagel. It is better to be more direct," he said.
"He (Abe) may name the (country) or not but all the audience know that he was targeting China.""
A quick take on these 2 incidents:
1. Hkg - a lost foster child unsure of what to make of the NEW parents while remaining very fond of the OLD parents' way of bringing him or her up!
The reality is: who put foods on the table? If it is the foster 'new' parents, better learn to work with them. In this case, it is the 'new' foster parents are UNLIKELY to change as Hkg is just of the MANY kids they have to take care of. That is the reality.
Still, the 'new' parents allowed Hkg to have a museum that is solely dedicated to the Tiananmen Incident. Not bad really. Though there is no telling the 'new' parents may just shut it down if Hkg, the kid, continued to 'mis-behave'!
2. US-Japan vs China
US is really not in a position to speak out against its BIGGEST CREDITOR. BUT it must. If it does not, nobody will. So, I can understand. YET, when push come to shaft, I wonder how much can US do on its own!
Japan on the other hand, is a very different proposition. Mr Abe is known to have the family burden of 'restoring the honour of WWII Japan'. He wants to have the power to build an armed forces that can attack instead of just solely 'for defensive purposes'. It HAS NOT WON the trust of China, and the so-called 'potential foes' of China in Asean too because it HAD NOT really apologized for the 'invasion of those countries during WWII'. I learned that ONLY Singapore officially forgave Japan with the Japanese government providing US25m cash and US25m in development aids (is this right?).
China HAS BEEN acting 'unilaterally' in recent times for sure! That is a FACT. It knows no one can do very much against it as it is 'big enough' to do what Russia did in Ukraine. Or more recently, the world Police, USA, had been doing ALL over the world where its strategic interests are threatened!
The SPATS and 'drama' will continue for a while. It is WHAT each country is actually doing on the ground that need paying attention to.
For Singapore and Asean, it is very clear, territorial claims MUST be resolved through the international laws, assuming they were drafted fairly, which is NOT, it seems, how China see it!
Let's continue to watch and follow the drama... NO WAR is imminent so we can REST EASY for now!
Organisers said 3,000 people took to the streets in sweltering heat for the annual protest, calling on Beijing to release imprisoned political dissidents and formally acknowledge the bloody crackdown of 1989. Hong Kong police put the number of protesters lower at 1,900.
It comes ahead of a mass candle-lit vigil planned for Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in which hundreds of people, by some estimates more than 1,000, died.
China still forbids public discussion of the events of June 3-4 1989 when the military brutally suppressed pro-democracy protesters, mainly students, in central Beijing.
Hong Kong is the only city in China to mark the anniversary openly.
An official Chinese Communist Party assessment after the Tiananmen protests branded the movement a "counter-revolutionary rebellion"."
AND
"China denounces US, Japan for "provocative" remarks - AFP 01 June 2014
SINGAPORE: China strongly denounced Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and United States Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel Sunday for "provocative" remarks accusing Beijing of destabilising actions in contested regional waters.
Lieutenant General Wang Guanzhong, deputy chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), told an Asian security forum in Singapore that the comments had been "unacceptable".
Abe opened the Shangri-La Dialogue on Friday by urging countries to respect the rule of law -- an apparent reference to perceived Chinese aggression over disputed islets in the South and East China seas.
Hagel followed on Saturday by warning China against "destabilising actions" in the South China Sea and listed a number of alleged infractions, including against the Philippines and Vietnam.
"The Chinese delegation... have this feeling that the speeches of Mr Abe and Mr Hagel are a provocative action against China," said Wang, dressed in full military regalia.
He cast aside his prepared speech and said he needed to respond to the remarks, accusing Abe and Hagel of "coordinating" with each other to attack China at the conference.
"This is simply unimaginable," said Wang, the highest ranking military official in the Chinese delegation, adding that the speeches were "unacceptable and not in the spirit of this Shangri-La Dialogue".
"The speeches made by Mr Abe and Mr Hagel gave me the impression that they coordinated with each other, they supported each other, they encouraged each other and they took the advantage of speaking first... and staged provocative actions and challenges against China," he said.
"In recent months, China has undertaken destabilising, unilateral actions asserting its claims in the South China Sea," the Pentagon chief said.
He accused China of restricting the Philippines' access to Scarborough Shoal, putting pressure on Manila's long-standing presence in Second Thomas Shoal, beginning land reclamation at various locations and moving an oil rig into disputed waters with Vietnam.
"The United States will not look the other way when fundamental principles of the international order are being challenged," he warned.
Abe pledged that his country would play a larger role in promoting peace in Asia, as his administration moves to reshape the Japanese military's purely defensive stance.
Laying out a vision of Tokyo as a counterweight to the growing might of China but without naming any country, Abe offered Japan's help to regional allies "to ensure security of the seas and skies".
He said Japan and the US stood ready to bolster security cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to promote peace.
Wang said he preferred Hagel's directness by directly naming China, compared to Abe who did not mention any country.
"If I am to compare the attitude of the two leaders, I would prefer the attitude of Mr Hagel. It is better to be more direct," he said.
"He (Abe) may name the (country) or not but all the audience know that he was targeting China.""
A quick take on these 2 incidents:
1. Hkg - a lost foster child unsure of what to make of the NEW parents while remaining very fond of the OLD parents' way of bringing him or her up!
The reality is: who put foods on the table? If it is the foster 'new' parents, better learn to work with them. In this case, it is the 'new' foster parents are UNLIKELY to change as Hkg is just of the MANY kids they have to take care of. That is the reality.
Still, the 'new' parents allowed Hkg to have a museum that is solely dedicated to the Tiananmen Incident. Not bad really. Though there is no telling the 'new' parents may just shut it down if Hkg, the kid, continued to 'mis-behave'!
2. US-Japan vs China
US is really not in a position to speak out against its BIGGEST CREDITOR. BUT it must. If it does not, nobody will. So, I can understand. YET, when push come to shaft, I wonder how much can US do on its own!
Japan on the other hand, is a very different proposition. Mr Abe is known to have the family burden of 'restoring the honour of WWII Japan'. He wants to have the power to build an armed forces that can attack instead of just solely 'for defensive purposes'. It HAS NOT WON the trust of China, and the so-called 'potential foes' of China in Asean too because it HAD NOT really apologized for the 'invasion of those countries during WWII'. I learned that ONLY Singapore officially forgave Japan with the Japanese government providing US25m cash and US25m in development aids (is this right?).
China HAS BEEN acting 'unilaterally' in recent times for sure! That is a FACT. It knows no one can do very much against it as it is 'big enough' to do what Russia did in Ukraine. Or more recently, the world Police, USA, had been doing ALL over the world where its strategic interests are threatened!
The SPATS and 'drama' will continue for a while. It is WHAT each country is actually doing on the ground that need paying attention to.
For Singapore and Asean, it is very clear, territorial claims MUST be resolved through the international laws, assuming they were drafted fairly, which is NOT, it seems, how China see it!
Let's continue to watch and follow the drama... NO WAR is imminent so we can REST EASY for now!
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