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2 Koreans wanted for telecom, wire fraud arrested
Two fugitives were captured by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) after being sought by South Korea and the US for their involvement in fraud-related operations. BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco confirmed the arrests of the two South Korean fugitives, who were identified as Kwon Junyoung, 38, and Seok Jongmin, 48. The two were arrested last Saturday in Brgy. Cuayan, Angeles City, Pampanga, by the BI Fugitive Search Unit (BI-FSU) operatives. Tansingco said that the operation was conducted in collaboration with the South Korean authorities, government intelligence groups, and the Angeles City Police Station. According to the South Korean authorities, Kwon is wanted for telecommunications fraud in South Korea, while Seok is wanted in Texas for engaging in wire fraud, money laundering, and identity theft. The BI chief said that as the BI board of commissioners has already issued summary deportation orders against them, soon they will be deported to face the crime they committed. Tansingco added that their names were also placed on the bureau’s blacklist of undesirable aliens, so they are now banned from re-entering the Philippines, the BI chief added. According to information obtained from Interpol's National Central Bureau (NCB) in Manila, the Suwon District Court in Korea issued an arrest order for Kwon on 12 December 2019. Authorities claimed that Kwon was part of a telecom fraud syndicate operating in Dalian, China, that used voice phishing to call random victims. Based on reports, the callers impersonated investigators from the Seoul Central Prosecutor's Office in order to harass the victims and trick them into transferring money to the syndicate's accounts. In contrast, the NCB revealed that Seok is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the US district court in Western Texas. He is accused of conspiring to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, conspiring to commit money laundering, and three counts of aggravated identity theft. Seok is accused of working with other suspects to gain access to the websites of the US Departments of Defence and Veterans Affairs using thousands of US military veterans' stolen personal identification information (PII), depriving the victims of their benefits. The BI-FSU also reported that Seok was arrested after posting bail at the Angeles City regional trial court, where he was charged with robbery and extortion, and will be transferred to the BI’s facility in Bicutan, Taguig. While Kwon will remain in the custody of the Angeles City police due to his ongoing local case, he will continue to be under the BI’s legal custody for deportation proceedings. The post 2 Koreans wanted for telecom, wire fraud arrested appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
U.S. asserts safe WPS passage for all
It has nothing to do with that particular country, or so they claimed rather cautiously and diplomatically. Navies of the Philippines and the United States opened their bilateral naval exercises yesterday, along with six other countries, at Naval Station Jose Andrada on Roxas Boulevard, Manila. The drills involve at-shore events at the Philippine Navy’s headquarters before going out to sea for exercises intended to improve the allied naval forces’ interoperability. Dubbed Exercise Sama-Sama, or Together, the exercise, according to Philippine Navy chief Vice Admiral Toribio Adaci, has nothing to do with a particular country that has figured in increasing tensions in the West Philippine Sea. But Adaci was obviously referring to China whose coast guard had used water cannons on Philippine Coast Guard-led resupply missions to Filipino troops stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal in the WPS. Adaci opened the exercise with US Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Karl Thomas. “The exercise is designed to be conducted here in Manila and the southern Luzon area,” Adaci said. Thomas, for his part, stressed the need to recognize the rules-based international order. Strong word “I think it is important that all nations have a right to sail and operate in the West Philippine Sea — free from worrying about being attacked,” Thomas said. “And attack is probably a strong word.” “I would say, free from being coerced, free from being intimidated. You know we want the commons to be common and open and free. And so long as our nations operate in accordance with the rule of law, in accordance with the rules and regulations, with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” he said. Like Adaci, Thomas did not mention China, but it is common knowledge that the United States military has been conducting “freedom of navigation” patrols to keep the South China Sea open to international commerce. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last week ordered the PCG to cut the 300-meter floating barrier installed by Chinese militia vessels at Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal. PN assets in action A 2016 arbitral ruling deemed China’s territorial claim on nearly the entire South China Sea, including areas that overlap the WPS, invalid. The ruling stemmed from a 2013 case filed by the Philippines against China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration, or PCA, after Beijing seized control of Scarborough Shoal in 2012. As the PCA junked China’s nine-dash line South China Sea claim, it affirmed the Philippines’ entitlement to its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone. Around 700 sailors and marines from different PN units are participating in the exercise, which will see in action, among other assets, the BRP Antonio Luna, and an AW109 naval helicopter. For the second straight year, the exercise will include the navies of Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, France and Australia. They will be participating mainly in humanitarian assistance and disaster response drills. Observers Meanwhile, the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Indonesian Navy are also joining as observers the naval exercise that dates back to 1994 when it was known as Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training. In 2017, its name was changed to Exercise Sama-Sama. Subsequently, the exercise was conducted annually across various regions: In 2017 at Naval Forces Central; in 2018 at Naval Forces Northern Luzon; in 2019 at Naval Forces West; and in 2021 at the Northern Luzon Command. Last year, it was held alongside Exercise Lumbas — the bilateral navy-to-navy exercise between the Philippines and Australia — with the limited participation of France, Japan and the United Kingdom. According to the PN, the primary objective of the exercise is to enhance the capabilities of both nations in responding to regional crises. Additionally, it aims to strengthen its capacities to address non-traditional challenges, including territorial defense, natural and man-made disasters, counterterrorism, maritime security and transnational crimes. The post U.S. asserts safe WPS passage for all appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Filipino homegrown hotel expands in Japan
Homegrown DoubleDragon Corporation’s Hotel 101 is setting the bar high with its expansion in Niseko Hokkaido, Japan, the first Filipino hotel chain to scale up its operations outside the country. Mang Inasal founder and DoubleDragon Corp. chairman Edgar Injap Sia II and co-chairman Tony Tan Caktiong led the groundbreaking of the 1.17-hectare Hotel101-Niseko with Niseko Mayor Kenya Katayama and Kutchan Hokkaido Mayor Kazushi Monji on 26 August. The ceremony also signaled the start of the construction of the 482-room property. Hotel 101–Niseko will be one of the most significant value hotels in Niseko, encompassing 482 signature HappyRooms offering comfort, convenience and accessibility to all types of travelers. The upcoming development sits on a sprawling 1.17-hectare property in Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan, and is expected to be patronized by Japanese travelers and foreign tourists. The extension of the Shinkansen bullet train to Niseko and Sapporo will further improve access to the region which is also reportedly in the running to host the 2030 Winter Olympics. [caption id="attachment_178438" align="aligncenter" width="1202"] Perspective of Hotel 101-Niseko Hokkaido, Japan.[/caption] Iwata Chizaki, Inc., one of the largest contractors in Japan and the same contractor who built the Chitose International Airport in Sapporo, Hokkaido Japan, will helm Hotel101-Niseko. Hotel 101 projects in Madrid, Spain and California, USA, will follow suit. By 2026, Hotel 101 Global targets to expand in United Kingdom, UAE, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mexico, South Korea, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Turkey, Italy, Germany, France, and China. [caption id="attachment_178436" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] DoubleDragon Corporation and Hotel 101 Global Pte Ltd team led by DoubleDragon chairman Edgar Injap Sia II, DoubleDragon co-chairman Tony Tan Caktiong, Hotel 101 global chief executive officer Hannah Yulo-Luccini with the team members of the project contractor Iwata Chizaki Inc., team members of the construction manager EGW Asset Management and team members of the project master sales group H2 Christies. | PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF DoubleDragon[/caption] DoubleDragon Corporation has accumulated a completed recurring income portfolio of over 1.2 million square meters in diversified hard assets in office leasing with its Jollibee Tower, DD Meridian Park complex, its string of CityMall community centers, its series of CentralHub industrial warehouse complexes, its series of Hotel 101 projects in the Philippines and overseas. As of 30 June, DoubleDragon’s total equity stands at P81.64 billion and total cash position stands at P6.54 billion. The company has recently been upgraded to the highest PhilRatings PRS Triple A Credit Rating. DoubleDragon targets listing its subsidiary Hotel 101 Global at the NASDAQ (US Stock Exchange) given that Hotel 101 Global is expected to ultimately derive over 95 percent of its revenues outside of the Philippines. The post Filipino homegrown hotel expands in Japan appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
AFP-PLA patrol dead on water
The proposed joint maritime patrol between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the People’s Liberation Army in the South China Sea may no longer proceed. AFP Chief of Staff, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., on Sunday, said the government may have gotten cold on the idea amid China’s continuing hostility toward the country in the West Philippine Sea. Brawner, in a radio interview, said Beijing’s actions in the WPS have raised questions over its claimed intention to uphold peace in the Indo-Pacific region. “With the way they are currently doing things, [the possibility of a joint patrol] seems quite unclear,” Brawner said, clearly referring to incidents of harassment by the China Coast Guard in the WPS. However, military collaboration between the two nations’ militaries will continue under a 2004 defense cooperation memorandum of understanding, the AFP chief stressed. The MoU had provisions allowing the AFP to send its officers to China for additional training, something that does not seem to interest the Philippine government at the moment. On the other hand, Brawner said the Philippines will continue to hold military drills with “partner” countries like the US, Japan and Canada. “We need to inform the whole world about what is happening here in the South China Sea. Because of these recent events, we have been successful in revealing China’s coercive and dangerous tactics,” he said. Previously, Brawner disclosed that China’s Ambassador to the Philippines, Huang Xilian, had offered to have joint patrols with the Philippines in the SCS, which overlaps with the WPS. China is claiming nearly all of the South China Sea under its nine-dash line theory, including the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone in the WPS. A decision made by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 junked China’s claim in the WPS, saying it has no historical basis while affirming the Philippines’ WPS claims. On 5 August, the Chinese Coast Guard bombarded a Philippine Coast Guard fleet with water as the latter was delivering supplies to Filipino troops stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal. The latest in a string of harassment incidents against Philippine ships this year, China’s action drew denunciation from several nations, including the US, Australia, Japan and Canada. The post AFP-PLA patrol dead on water appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Phl-China joint maritime patrol may not proceed — AFP chief
The proposed joint maritime patrol between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the People's Liberation Army in the South China Sea may no longer push through, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said on Sunday, as China continues its hostility toward the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea. In a radio interview, Brawner said that Beijing's recent behavior in the WPS raised questions about its intentions to conduct coordinated patrols to uphold peace in the Indo-Pacific region. "With the way they are currently doing things, [the possibility of a joint patrol] seems quite unclear," Brawner said. Brawner stated that despite the joint patrol seems to be off the table at the moment, military collaboration between the two nations' militaries will still continue as a result of a 2004 memorandum of understanding (MOU) on defense cooperation. Among other advantages, the MOU enables the AFP to deploy military officers to China for additional training. On the other hand, Brawner said that the military exercises with other nations—such as the United States, Japan, and Canada—that the Philippines considered as its "partners" would go on. "We need to inform the whole world about what is happening here in the South China Sea. Because of these recent events, we have been successful in revealing China's coercive and dangerous tactics," Brawner had previously disclosed that the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines, Huang Xilian, had offered to have joint patrols with the Philippines in the SCS. China is claiming a large portion of the SCS, including the Philippines' 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and the WPS. However, a historic decision made by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 that supported the Philippines' claims in the SCS found their arguments unlawful. On 5 August, the Chinese Coast Guard attacked the Philippine Coast Guard fleet with water cannons when it was delivering supplies to Filipino troops stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre in the West Philippine Sea's Ayungin Shoal. The latest in a string of alleged episodes of harassment against Philippine warships this year, several nations, led by the United States, Australia, Japan, and Canada, expressed support for Manila and denounced China's conduct. The post Phl-China joint maritime patrol may not proceed — AFP chief appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
BI releases guidelines on Philippine Nikkei-Jin
The Bureau of Immigration announced on Friday that it released new guidelines on Philippine Nikkei-Jin. BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that the new guidelines, which were also approved by the Secretary of Justice, aim to address the immigration needs of Filipinos who have the status of Nikkei-Jin under Japanese law. The word "Nikkei-Jin" refers to Japanese immigrants and their offspring who left Japan and raised their families in other nations. More than 3 million Nikkei-Jins live in their adopted countries, according to data from the Association of Nikkei and Japanese Abroad; the largest of these populations are in Brazil, the USA, China, Canada, Peru, and the Philippines. The BI acknowledged in the order that Philippine Nikkei-Jin are recognized as Japanese citizens by official documents issued by the Japanese government. Tansingco also shared that a Philippine Nikkei-Jin may depart from the Philippines with or without a Philippine passport. Those who travel without a Philippine passport lose the presumption of being Filipinos for purposes of traveling outside the Philippines. In such cases, a Philippine Nikkei-Jin may travel abroad to and from Japan with a Japanese passport or travel document and a BI Order recognizing him as a Nikkei-Jin. The order would allow the Philippine Nikkei-Jin to depart from the Philippines with a deferment of payment of immigration fees. Philippine Nikkei-Jin who likewise arrive without a Philippine passport should present the same order; otherwise, applicable rules for foreign nationals will apply. However, if the Philippine Nikkei-Jin has already renounced his Philippine citizenship, then he will be treated as a foreign national, subject to the rules regulating aliens in the Philippines," clarified Tansingco. The BI chief said that the bureau recognizes the needs of Filipinos who have the status of Nikkei-Jin under Japanese law, and they are Filipinos who are likewise descendants of Japanese nationals. Hence, they see the importance of crafting specific guidelines for processing their immigration documents. The post BI releases guidelines on Philippine Nikkei-Jin appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Australia, US open large-scale war games
SYDNEY (AFP) — Australia opened a large-scale joint military exercise with the United States and almost a dozen other nations on Friday, as a senior officer revealed that a Chinese spy ship was following the proceedings. Officials formally launched the biennial Talisman Sabre exercise, involving more than 30,000 troops from 13 nations, including Britain, Japan, Indonesia, Canada and France. The drills come amid increasing concern about the threat posed to the region by China, which is not part of the military exercise. Speaking at a news conference onboard the HMAS Canberra, Australia’s Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Greg Bilton told reporters that a Chinese spy ship had been spotted off the country’s northeastern coast the previous day. “We reached out on Thursday and hailed that vessel in the Coral Sea,” he said. “It’ll move down, I expect, and join the exercise or be in the location of the exercise again. They’ve done this for a number of years — we’re well-prepared for it.” He said the Chinese response to Australia’s communication had been “courteous and in accordance with normal norms at sea.” Australia and the United States have made it clear that they have their eyes on China’s activities in the Asia-Pacific region. Australia has announced moves to develop military facilities in its northern region, while also saying that the US military presence there will increase in coming years. A US “Indo-Pacific Strategy” last year announced efforts to work more closely with regional allies to “shape the region around China” to blunt Beijing’s influence. Lieutenant General Bilton said Australian defense officials “haven’t reached out to the Chinese specifically” ahead of the military exercise. He added: “This exercise is about us, it’s about our partner nations, building interoperability, trust and our ability to respond together to whatever crisis might exist in our region in the future.” For two weeks, until 4 August, troops will participate in field training, amphibious landings, ground force maneuvers, air combat and maritime operations. Most of this year’s exercise will take place in the northeastern Australian state of Queensland. The post Australia, US open large-scale war games appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
India announces new French fighter jet deal as Modi visits Paris
India announced a new multi-billion-dollar deal for French fighter jets on Thursday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Paris for a two-day trip that will see him feted as the guest of honor during France's national day celebrations. India's defense ministry said that the country intended to order 26 more Rafale jets as well as another three Scorpene-class submarines, with the price and other terms still being worked out. India is one of the biggest buyers of French arms, and Modi announced a landmark deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets during a 2015 trip to Paris that was worth around 4.0 billion euros at the time. Some of those Indian-piloted Rafales will take part in a flypast on Friday during France's Bastille Day military parade where Modi will sit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron as guest of honour. "This closeness is not limited to just the leaders of two countries, it is in fact a reflection of the unwavering friendship between India and France," Modi told an enthusiastic crowd of Indians living in France on Thursday evening. Despite differences over the war in Ukraine and tensions over human rights in India, Western democracies are courting Modi and India as a counterweight to China in Asia. Macron's red carpet welcome comes weeks after Modi was given the rare honor of a White House state dinner in Washington -- a city he was once banned from visiting. "India is one of the pillars of our Indo-Pacific strategy," an aide to Macron told reporters this week on condition of anonymity. Human rights But amid the pomp and diplomatic courting in France, a resolution from the European Parliament on Thursday served as a reminder of Modi's controversial leadership style and Hindu nationalist agenda that has critics at home and abroad. Sitting in Strasbourg in eastern France, EU parliamentarians approved a motion that urged India to end violence in the country's restive northeastern Manipur state and to protect minorities there. Clashes between the majority Meitei, who are mostly Hindus, and the mainly Christian Kuki tribe have left at least 120 people dead, 50,000 displaced and over 1,700 houses destroyed, the parliament said. It criticized the "nationalistic rhetoric" of the local state government, run by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party. Modi's role during Bastille Day in France was "an affront not only to India's minority communities, journalists and human rights defenders but also to India as a democracy," the text's chief negotiator, Pierre Larrouturou, said. A protest called against Modi drew only a few dozen people in central Paris on Thursday. Strategic partnership Modi has visited France four times since Macron came to power in 2017, while Macron was honored with a state visit to New Delhi in 2018. Aides on both sides have talked up the personal chemistry between the two leaders and pointed to cooperation on climate change, space technology, and nuclear power as part of a 25-year-old "strategic partnership" between France and India. Modi told the French newspaper Les Echos that bilateral trade had doubled in the last nine years and Macron's "thinking really matches ours". India and France "are naturally compatible" and "we see France as one of our foremost global partners," Modi added. Few observers expect Macron to raise rights concerns with Modi publicly. "The fact that explains France's relative success in this relationship is that unlike the US, the UK, Canada, Germany and a few other European countries, you've hardly seen France commenting on the internal affairs of India," Constantino Xavier from the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, a New Delhi-based think tank, said this week. "That has been appreciated on the Indian side." Modi has been dogged by allegations he was complicit in religious violence during his tenure as chief minister of the western state of Gujarat in 2002 when around 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in sectarian riots. The Indian government and judicial probes have cleared him of culpability. Since his first crushing electoral victory in 2014, he has also been denounced by rights groups for increased discrimination and violence towards the country's Muslims, as well as stifling independent media. "Diversity is the biggest strength of our democracy," he told the meeting on Thursday evening that also lauded the country's economic growth. Many European and American businesses, including US tech giant Apple, are ramping up production there to mitigate the threat of supply chain disruptions from China. The war in Ukraine has heightened concerns in the West about the risk of conflicts disrupting the flow of key raw materials and technology from China, but it has also exposed a rift with India. New Delhi, which has long sought to balance its ties with Moscow and the West, has declined to condemn Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine and has emerged as a top buyer of discounted Russian oil during the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II. The post India announces new French fighter jet deal as Modi visits Paris appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Wanted Chinese woman arrested
The Bureau of Immigration at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport recently arrested a female Chinese national wanted for her involvement in human trafficking in Beijing, China. BI Intelligence Division chief Fortunato Manahan Jr. identified the Chinese national as Zheng YuYu, who was intercepted at NAIA Terminal 2 last Saturday. Manahan said members of the BI’s border control and intelligence unit collared Zheng before she could board a Philippine Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco immediately ordered the woman’s commitment to the BI warden facility at Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, where she would remain while undergoing deportation proceedings. The BI Board of Commissioners, meantime, is expected to issue an order for Zheng’s summary deportation and her inclusion in the bureau’s blacklist of undesirable aliens. According to BI-BCIU deputy chief Joseph Cueto, since 9 April this year, Zheng has been on the BI’s wanted list, along with another Chinese national identified as Chen Dongxin, who was charged with deportation by the bureau’s prosecutors for being undesirable aliens. Cueto said that the charges against Zheng and Chen were filed after the Chinese Embassy in Manila informed the Bureau that the two were wanted in their country for large-scale human trafficking. They were both accused of allegedly organizing people to illegally and secretly cross China’s territorial borders. The post Wanted Chinese woman arrested appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Korean fugitive Arrested at NAIA
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) arrested a South Korean fugitive wanted for involvement in telecommunications fraud in South Korea. In a report given to BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco, the BI Border Control and Intelligence Unit (BI-BCIU) identified the arrested fugitive as Jeon Jihoon, 37, who was intercepted on June 2 at the NAIA 1 terminal upon his arrival via China Eastern Airways flight from Shanghai, China. BI-BCIU Deputy Chief for Operation Joseph Cueto said that his men arrested the Korean after the BI officer who processed him noticed that Jeon's name was on the Interpol hit list of wanted foreign fugitives. Cueto added that after conferring with the BI Interpol unit, the immigration supervisors on duty were able to confirm Jeon's identity as the same person whose name registered a hit in the Interpol database. Jeon was later brought to the BI Warden Facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig, pending deportation proceedings. Tansingco has reportedly ordered that the Korean immediately undergo deportation for being an undesirable alien, so he could be sent back to Korea to stand trial for his alleged crime. He will then be placed on the immigration blacklist, which will ban him from entering the country in perpetuity. According to Interpol’s National Central Bureau (NCB) in Manila, Jeon was charged with telecom fraud before the Busan District Court in South Korea and issued a warrant of arrest on Feb. 24 last year against him. Jeon is accused of allegedly being a member of a voice phishing syndicate that impersonates himself as an agent of financial institutions by making random calls to other victims who are promised huge returns on their money. Hundreds of victims were reportedly lured into the scheme and enticed to deposit money, totaling more than 4.5 billion won, or roughly US$3.5 million, into the syndicates’ bank accounts. The post Korean fugitive Arrested at NAIA appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Hong Kong police detain more than 20 on Tiananmen anniversary
Hong Kong police on Sunday detained more than 20 people, including key pro-democracy figures trying to commemorate the anniversary of the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown, as hundreds in Taiwan mourned the dead with a vigil. For years, tens of thousands of Hong Kongers would converge on the city's Victoria Park and its surrounding neighborhood to commemorate the events of June 4, 1989 -- taking part in candlelight vigils. But since Beijing's imposition of a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 to quell dissent, the annual vigil has been banned and its organizers charged under the law. This weekend, scores of police were deployed in the area, stopping people for searches and questioning. Some found with a candle -- regarded as a symbol of the Victoria Park vigil -- were questioned and detained. More than 700 kilometers (430 miles) away on the self-ruled island of Taiwan, hundreds gathered at Taipei's Liberty Square to chant "fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong" as night fell. They lit candles in the shape of "8964" -- numerals forbidden in mainland China because it references the events of June 4, 1989. "We need to cherish the freedom and democracy we have in Taiwan," Perry Wu, 31, told AFP. "I feel really sad to see the news of people getting arrested today in Hong Kong." Hong Kong police said late Sunday they had detained 23 people between the ages of 20 to 74 who were suspected of "breaching the peace". One woman, 53, was arrested for obstructing police officers. Among the most prominent activists AFP saw bundled into police vans was Chan Po-ying, the leader of the League of Social Democrats, one of the few remaining opposition parties. The veteran activist, who was released hours later, held a small LED candle and two flowers before she was seized by police. Other recognizable figures taken were Alexandra Wong, a well-known activist nicknamed "Grandma Wong" and Leo Tang, a former leader of the now-disbanded Confederation of Trade Unions. On Saturday, Hong Kong police arrested four people for "seditious" acts and "disorderly conduct". Another four were detained on suspicion of breaching the peace. The office of UN human rights chief Volker Turk said in a tweet late Sunday it was "alarmed by reports of detentions" in Hong Kong and called for the "release of anyone detained for exercising freedom of expression & peaceful assembly." 'Let the world know' Discussion of the Tiananmen crackdown is highly sensitive for China's communist leadership and commemoration is forbidden on the mainland. The government sent troops and tanks to Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989 to break up peaceful protests, brutally crushing a weeks-long wave of demonstrations calling for political change. Hundreds -- by some estimates, more than 1,000 -- were killed. Hong Kong was for decades the only Chinese city with a large-scale commemoration -- a key index of the liberties and political pluralism afforded by its semi-autonomous status. This year, Victoria Park was transformed for a "hometown carnival fair" organized by pro-Beijing groups. Erase memories Beijing has gone to exhaustive lengths to erase the 1989 event from public memory in the mainland. All mention of the crackdown is scrubbed from China's internet. Over the weekend, sites of more recent protests -- a bridge in Beijing where a "freedom" banner was unfurled, and Wulumuqi Street in Shanghai where demonstrations happened in November -- also saw heightened security. Hong Kong authorities were vigilant in the weeks before June 4, with police seizing a commemorative "Pillar of Shame" statue for a security trial and removing books on the Tiananmen crackdown from public libraries. But there were still pockets of defiance on Sunday around Hong Kong -- a shop gave away candles, while a bookstore displayed Tiananmen Square archival material. At the US consulate in the evening, dozens of candles could be seen shimmering in the large complex's windows. 'Face the consequences' Sidestepping questions about whether public mourning was allowed, Hong Kong's leader John Lee had repeatedly maintained that the public must act according to the law or "be ready to face the consequences". Vigils planned around the world, from Japan to Australia, saw people standing with candles next to images of the brutal crackdown. In London, protesters staged a re-enactment featuring a blow-up tank and women dressed in white, emulating a statue to liberty set up on Tiananmen Square in 1989. A 59-year-old poet from China's Sichuan province, told AFP at the Trafalgar Square rally that his family fled soon after brutal crackdown. "Chinese people in my generation know what happened, but the younger ones, not really," said the man, who declined to be named for fear of Chinese reprisals. "Their parents, their grandparents, need to keep up the knowledge, and we all need to remember at events overseas like this." The post Hong Kong police detain more than 20 on Tiananmen anniversary appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
In defense of Our Lady Mediatrix of all Grace
This is a reaction to the CBCP position that appeared in a PhilStar article dated 29 May 2023 concerning Our Lady Mediatrix of All Grace, as articulated by Bishop Pablo David, CBCP president. This open letter is in defense of Our Lady Mediatrix. The article was headlined, “Vatican has Spoken on Lipa Apparitions.” The article began, “The Vatican has already ruled on the alleged apparitions of Mary Mediatrix of All Grace in Lipa, Batangas in 1948.” Bishop David says there was “no sign of supernatural character or origin.” In other words, the Mediatrix issue was an open and shut case. The article, however, did not take into account the history that had been omitted and about which the Vatican was silent. That needs to be mentioned here to avoid a false picture. The Vatican’s Confederation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the most powerful Church office that investigates alleged apparitions, created a commission of eight Filipino bishops in the 1950s, led by then Bishop Rufino Santos (later a Cardinal), to investigate the Mediatrix apparitions in Lipa. The findings were unanimous. All the bishops declared the Mediatrix apparitions authentic. But under extreme pressure from the Apostolic Nuncio, the diplomatic representative of the Vatican in the Philippines, the bishops were forced to reverse their findings. This was discovered only years later when one bishop, on his deathbed, recanted his reversal. All the other bishops also recanted later, throwing a monkey wrench into the Vatican-led study that said the apparitions were not authentic. There was a move to set the record straight with another investigation — about which Pope Francis was aware — but that proposal was ignored and never materialized. Instead, Vatican and CDF elements began an intense campaign to suppress the Mediatrix phenomenon that has lasted more than eight decades to this very day. The original miraculous Mediatrix statue was hidden in some cellar. Other statues were destroyed. The miraculous rose petals that had religious images on them were burned, destroying the very evidence needed for future investigations. Those that escaped the medieval-style iconoclasts are now secretly hidden somewhere. Novena pamphlets, stampitas, and religious materials were burned, including the precious diary that contained the first-hand account of visionary Sister Teresing Castillo. A second diary was written before she died and which is available on the internet. Many bishops of Lipa were “exiled” to remote dioceses or forced to resign through the decades for their support of the Mediatrix. The entire Philippine Church, fearing repercussions, was forced into silence, except for a few brave souls. Despite all this, the Virgin prevailed. When the bishops fell silent, the laity, immune to Vatican repressions, took over. Taking a cue from a CBCP declaration that Mediatrix devotion was allowed despite the apparitions having been declared as non-authentic, the devotion spread like wildfire. About 80 life-size Mediatrix statues were distributed to dioceses nationwide, especially in Mindanao, where Mediatrix miracles mushroomed. Lay Mediatrix groups sprouted everywhere. Nobody could stop the Virgin. The statements of the CBCP and Bishop David are understandable, as they cannot defy the Vatican. Any defiance is tantamount to “schism,” a denial of the Papacy and of the Church itself. Fr. Jose Syquia, chief exorcist of the Archdiocese of Manila, and his assistant, Fr. Winston Cabading, are an example of overzealous loyalty to the Vatican, which is also understandable, but only up to a point. They cannot make fun of Our Lady. That was why Fr. Cabading was arrested based on the charges filed by Mediatrix devotee ex-justice Harriet Demetriou. In her second diary, Sr. Teresing wrote that she withstood the tortures by the devil of a foul smell and bruises on her arms. Satan fears the Philippine Church as the launch pad of Our Lady Mediatrix for the Church evangelization of Asia, especially China, where there is now a Mediatrix statue in Nanjing. The triumph of the Virgin over Satan today was prophesied in the Book of Genesis 3:15, when God told Lucifer, “I will put enmity between you and the woman (Our Lady) and between your offspring and hers (Jesus). Her offspring shall crush your head, and you will bruise his heel.” eastwindreplyctr@gmail.com The post In defense of Our Lady Mediatrix of all Grace appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
DFA’s Manalo to discuss WPS with Canadian counterpart
Issues hounding the West Philippine Sea are expected to be discussed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo during his bilateral meeting with his Canadian counterpart, Mélanie Joly on 19 May, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday. The DFA said Manalo and Joly will meet to “advance bilateral relations and sustain high-level engagements between the Philippines and Canada.” “At their bilateral meeting, Secretary Manalo is expected to bring up enhanced trade and investment between the two nations, developments in the West Philippine Sea, and cooperation in the energy, defense, and maritime sectors, among others,” the agency said in a statement. Canada, along with the US, Japan and Australia, has called out China for its continuing aggression in the West Philippine Sea. Likewise, the two diplomats are expected to exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual concern, including developments in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe. According to Global Affairs Canada, Joly will be traveling to the Philippines from 18 to 21 May to boost the bilateral relations between the two nations. Joly is the second Canadian minister to visit the Philippines this year and the fourth Cabinet minister from Canada to visit during the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Manalo said he welcomes Joly’s visit to the Philippines as “an avenue to deepen our two countries’ collaboration based on our shared values, including democracy and adherence to a rules-based international order.” “The Philippines and Canada’s continued cooperation shows how partnerships based on those shared values can withstand numerous challenges and obstacles,” he said. “I look forward to discussing matters of mutual interest and benefit to our countries and I am optimistic that this meeting can build on our nations’ rich and storied friendship,” he added. For Manalo, Joly’s visit to the country indicates a “return to high-level engagements between the two countries,” adding that he looks forward to building on existing areas of cooperation as well as exploring fresh avenues for collaboration with Canada. He is also expected to highlight the strong people-to-people ties that bind the two nations, chief among them the large Filipino diaspora in Canada. The agency said there are almost a million individuals of Filipino descent in Canada, representing 2.59 percent of the country’s population. Joly’s visit to the country comes amid preparations for the 75th anniversary of bilateral ties between the two countries in 2024. Bilateral ties between the two countries commenced in December 1949, when Canada established a trade mission in Manila. The post DFA’s Manalo to discuss WPS with Canadian counterpart appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Pinoys among those evacuated as Sudan fighting enters 2nd week
Sudan's Rapid Support Forces said Sunday it had "coordinated with" American troops to evacuate Washington's embassy in the country, where fighting between the paramilitary group and the army entered a second week following a brief lull. More than 150 people from various nations had already reached the safety of Saudi Arabia in the first announced evacuation of civilians. Foreign countries have said they are preparing for the potential evacuation of thousands more of their nationals, even though Sudan's main airport remains closed. "The Rapid Support Forces Command has coordinated with the U.S Forces Mission consisting of 6 aircraft, for evacuating diplomats and their families on Sunday morning," said a tweet by the heavily armed paramilitary group. The RSF pledged "full cooperation with all diplomatic missions, and providing all necessary means of protection, and ensuring their safe return to their countries". The group previously said it was ready to "partially" open "all airports" in Sudan to evacuate foreign citizens. It was not possible to verify which airports the RSF controls. Fighting has left hundreds dead and thousands wounded, while survivors cope with shortages of electricity and food. On Saturday, Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry announced the "safe arrival" of 91 of its citizens along with nationals from Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada and Burkina Faso. As the kingdom's naval forces transported the civilians, including diplomats and international officials, across the Red Sea from Port Sudan to Jeddah, fighting resumed in Sudan's capital Khartoum after a temporary truce saw gunfire momentarily die down on Friday, the first day of Eid al-Fitr. Eid is normally a major celebration for Sudanese marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. This year it is marked by fear, grief and hunger. Earlier on Saturday, Sudan's army said its chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had received calls from leaders of multiple countries to "facilitate and guarantee safety for evacuating citizens and diplomatic missions". It noted that the evacuations were expected to begin "in the coming hours", adding that the US, Britain, France and China were planning to airlift their nationals out of Khartoum using military planes. Burhan told Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV that the army was in control of "all airports, except for Khartoum airport" and one in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur. Urban warfare began on 15 April between forces loyal to Burhan and those of his deputy-turned-rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. Daglo commands the RSF, which emerged from the Janjaweed fighters unleashed in Darfur by former strongman Omar al-Bashir, drawing accusations of war crimes. The former allies seized power in a 2021 coup but later fell out in a bitter power struggle. On Saturday morning, heavy gunfire, loud explosions and fighter jets were heard in many parts of the capital, according to witnesses. The army announced Friday agreement to a three-day ceasefire. Daglo said in a statement he had "discussed the current crisis" with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and was "focused on the humanitarian truce, safe passages, and protecting humanitarian workers". Five humanitarians, including four from UN-linked agencies, have so far been killed. Two 24-hour ceasefires announced earlier in the week were also ignored. In Khartoum, a city of five million people, the conflict has left terrified civilians sheltering inside their homes. Many have ventured out only to get urgent food supplies -- stocks of which are dwindling -- or to flee the city. While Khartoum has seen some of the fiercest battles, they have occurred across the country. Late Friday, the army accused the RSF of attacks in the capital's twin city of Omdurman where they released "a large number of inmates" from a prison, accusations the group denies. Battles have raged in Darfur, where Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in the city of El Fasher said their medics had been "overwhelmed" by the number of patients with gunshot wounds, many of them children. More plans are being made to evacuate foreigners, with South Korea and Japan deploying forces to nearby countries, and the European Union weighing a similar move. The German ministers of defence and foreign affairs held a crisis meeting Saturday on a possible evacuation, after three military transport planes had to turn back Wednesday, according to German weekly Der Spiegel. The World Health Organization (WHO) said 413 people had been killed and 3,551 wounded in the fighting across Sudan, but the actual death toll is thought to be higher. More than two-thirds of hospitals in Khartoum and neighbouring states are now "out of service", and at least four hospitals in North Kordofan state were shelled, the doctors' union said. The World Food Programme said the violence could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where one-third of the population needs aid. Burhan and Daglo's dispute centred on the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army, a key condition for a deal aimed at restoring Sudan's democratic transition after the military toppled Bashir in April 2019 following mass citizen protests. In October 2021, Burhan and Daglo joined forces to oust a civilian government installed after Bashir's downfall. Daglo now says the coup was a "mistake", while Burhan believes it was "necessary" to include more groups into politics. The post Pinoys among those evacuated as Sudan fighting enters 2nd week appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
US arrests two over Chinese ‘police station’ in New York
US authorities arrested two men Monday for allegedly setting up a Chinese "police station" in New York and charged dozens of Chinese security officials over a campaign to monitor and harass US-based dissidents. The arrests of Harry Lu Jianwang, 61, and Chen Jinping, 59, are the first anywhere over a suspected campaign by China to establish surreptitious police posts in countries around the world, said Breon Peace, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn. The two men set up the office in Manhattan's Chinatown last year at the behest of the Fuzhou branch of the Ministry of Public Security, China's national police force, ostensibly to offer services like Chinese driver's license renewal, according to Peace. But in fact, their main job was to help track down and harass fugitive dissidents from the People's Republic of China (PRC), US officials said. "The MPS established a concrete outpost, an off-the-books police station right here in New York City, to monitor and intimidate dissidents and other critics of the PRC within one of the United States' most vibrant diaspora communities," said David Newman, the Justice Department's principal deputy assistant attorney general for national security. Canada and several European governments have cracked down on similar "police stations." Last year the Spain-based human rights group Safeguard Defenders first revealed the existence of such outposts around the world. They often operate with little or no indication they are there -- though US officials said the Manhattan office had been visited by officials from the Chinese consulate in New York. According to Safeguard Defenders, the "police stations" have been involved in pressuring Chinese nationals to return home to face criminal charges. Canada has identified and closed several unofficial outposts in Montreal and elsewhere. In October, Dutch authorities said they were investigating reports of two Chinese police operations in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Lu and Chen were charged with acting as unregistered agents of a foreign government and obstruction for destroying evidence of their communications with Chinese officials. In a related case, the Justice Department announced charges against 34 members of China's MPS who were allegedly involved in harassing dissidents overseas, including the US-based Falun Gong religious movement. The indictees are allegedly members of the "912 Special Project Working Group," which the Justice Department described as an MPS task force set up "to target Chinese dissidents located throughout the world, including in the United States." The task force created thousands of fake social media accounts, according to the US charges, to target Chinese dissidents "through online harassment and threats." They also sometimes pose as people from the United States or other countries, the charges said, to push Beijing's official view or interpretation of global issues, from Democracy to the Ukraine war to American racial tensions. "This task force isn't a normal police force," said Peace. "It doesn't protect people or combat crimes. It commits crimes targeting Chinese democracy activists and dissidents located outside of the PRC, including right here in New York City." Another six MPS officials and two members of China's Cyberspace Administration were charged with conspiracy in an updated 2020 case of a China-based employee of Zoom acting to disrupt online meetings and discussions by anti-Beijing activists. The new indictment says the employee, Julien Jin, "worked directly with and took orders from" the MPS and Cyberspace Administration. In one case, in May and June 2020, Jin used his access to Zoom company systems to disrupt online meetings by activists to discuss the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen anti-democracy crackdown and massacre in Beijing. "It shows the PRC efforts to globalize the oppressive tactics used domestically in China to silence dissent," said Newman. "The efforts of the government of the PRC to export authoritarian methods to stifle free expression in the United States is a threat to American democracy that we will not abide." The post US arrests two over Chinese ‘police station’ in New York appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Canada warns citizens on Hong Kong exit bans
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Canada warned its citizens on Thursday that Hong Kong authorities can prevent people leaving the city under a new law that has raised fears of Chinese mainland-style exit bans. The law, granting the immigration chief powers to bar people from boarding planes to and from the city, came into effect […] The post Canada warns citizens on Hong Kong exit bans appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Pandemic hammers HSBC profits in H1
HONG KONG (AFP) – HSBC on Monday said profits for the first half of 2020 plunged by 69 percent on year as the banking giant was hammered by the coronavirus pandemic and spiralling China-US tensions. The lender reported post-tax profits of $3.1 billion while pre-tax profit was $4.3 billion, a 64 percent drop on the same period last year. Reported revenue was down nine percent at $26.7 billion. Chief executive Noel Quinn described the first six months of the year as ”some of the most challenging in living memory”. ”Our first-half performance was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, falling interest rates, increased geopolitical risk and heightened levels of market volatility,” he said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange, Even by the standards of the current economic maelstrom engulfing global banks, HSBC has had a torrid year. Before the coronavirus crisis it was beset by disappointing profit growth, ground down by US-China trade war uncertainties and Britain’s departure from the European Union. The Asia-focused lender embarked on a huge cost-cutting initiative at the start of the year, including plans to slash some 35,000 jobs as well as trimming fat from less profitable divisions, primarily in the United States and Europe. The coronavirus upended some of that cost-cutting drive with banks hammered by market volatility and the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic. But HSBC has a further headache — geopolitical tensions via its status as a major business conduit between China and the West. HSBC makes 90 percent of its profit in Asia, with China and Hong Kong being the major drivers of growth. Caught in crossfire As a result it has found itself more vulnerable than most to the crossfire caused by the increasingly bellicose relationship between Beijing and Washington. The bank has tried to stay in Beijing’s good graces. It vocally backed a draconian national security law that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in June to end a year of unrest and pro-democracy protests. The move sparked criticism in Washington and London but analysts saw it as an attempt to protect its access to China, which has a track record of punishing businesses that do not toe Beijing’s line. But that has not shielded it from Beijing’s wrath. Last month the bank was a subject of multiple reports in China’s state-run media claiming that it had helped to provide the evidence that led to the arrest in Canada of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a US arrest warrant. HSBC released a statement on its Chinese Weibo accounts saying it had not ”framed” telecom giant Huawei or ”fabricated evidence” that led to the arrest of Meng. China’s internet censors blocked access to HSBC’s statement within hours of publication, without offering an explanation. Quinn referenced the bank’s growing political vulnerability in Monday’s statement. ”Current tensions between China and the US inevitably create challenging situations for an organization with HSBC’s footprint,” he said. ”However, the need for a bank capable of bridging the economies of East and West is acute, and we are well placed to fulfill this role,” he added. The bank’s Asia operations continued to show ”good resilience”, Quinn said, with profit before tax of $7.4 billion. Earlier this year Quinn put some of the job cuts on hold as the pandemic struck. But in Monday’s statement he vowed to press ahead with the cost-cutting. ”As we seek to accelerate our transformation in the second half of the year, I am mindful of the impact it will have for some of our people, particularly those leaving us,” he said......»»
Pentagon chief reaffirms support after latest China aggression in WPS
Austin emphasized US support for the Philippines in defending its sovereign rights and jurisdiction in a phone call with Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro on Wednesday. .....»»
Roque: Xi, Duterte agreed to keep West Philippines Sea status quo
The Philippines under former president Rodrigo Duterte had a “gentleman’s agreement” with China to keep the status quo in the West Philippine Sea, a former Cabinet official said yesterday, as fresh tensions surround the WPS due to recent incursions by Beijing that targeted a Filipino resupply mission and a research team......»»
Indian Coast Guard ship docks at Manila port amid tensions in South China Sea
Manila [Philippines], March 26 (ANI): Amid tensions in the South China Sea, the Indian Coast Guard ship, Samudra Paheredar docked at the Manila Bay in the Philippines as part of a broader initiative aimed at demonstrating ICG Marine Pollution Response capabilities, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in an official release on Tuesday. The ICG ship which arrived at the port on Monday, is on an overseas deployment to ASEAN c.....»»