UNITED24 - Make a charitable donation in support of Ukraine!

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)


20 August 2020 - China Special Weapons News

  • Chinese vaccine maker to hold Phase III clinical trials in Peru Global Times 20 Aug 2020 -- The China National Biotec Group (CNBG) announced Thursday it will start its Phase ? clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines in Peru and Morocco, vowing to help the world fight the epidemic, even as foreign media hypes China's so-called vaccine diplomacy.
  • Hong Kong bans Air India flights for 2 weeks over imported COVID-19 cases People's Daily 20 Aug 2020 -- Air India has been banned from flying to Hong Kong for two weeks after a dozen of passengers onboard a flight operated by the airline have tested positive for COVID-19, Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) said on Wednesday.
  • China capable of containing COVID-19 resurgence in autumn, winter: expert People's Daily 20 Aug 2020 -- China is confident of being able to control a COVID-19 epidemic resurgence in autumn and winter based on recent epidemic containment experience over more than six months, a health expert said Wednesday.
  • China updates COVID-19 diagnosis, treatment protocol People's Daily 20 Aug 2020 -- China's health authorities have published the latest version of the "Diagnosis and Treatment Protocol for Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia."
  • Chinese mainland reports no new locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases People's Daily 20 Aug 2020 -- No new locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases were reported Wednesday across the Chinese mainland, the National Health Commission said Thursday.

  • Navarro's accusation 'completely groundless'; China not interested in US election: FM Global Times 20 Aug 2020 -- China has no interest in interfering in the 2020 US presidential election, and remarks by White House trade advisor Peter Navarro accusing the Democratic Party and the Communist Party of China of being in cahoots in the 2020 US presidential election to beat Donald Trump are "completely groundless," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

  • Tibetan Crowds at Lhasa Festival Smaller This Year, With Officials Citing 'COVID' Fears Radio Free Asia 20 Aug 2020 -- A major religious festival is being held this week in Tibet's regional capital Lhasa under heavy security, with fewer numbers of Tibetans allowed to attend this year because of official concerns over the possible spread of coronavirus, according to Tibetan sources.

  • Mekong Countries Must Confront China Over Dam Impact, Experts Say Ahead of China-Led Meeting Radio Free Asia 20 Aug 2020 -- China's extensive damming of the upper Mekong River has reduced water flows, threatening downstream countries Cambodia and Vietnam with environmental harm and food shortages, said experts in advance of a summit meeting of the multilateral Mekong-Lancang Cooperation group.

  • Chinese spy ship spotted near Taiwan during missile tests: source CNA 20 Aug 2020 -- A Chinese reconnaissance vessel was seen recently off the east coast of Taiwan, during a series of live-fire missile tests conducted by the Taiwan military's top research institute, a military source said Thursday.
  • Taiwan slams China, Somalia for criticism of Somaliland office CNA 20 Aug 2020 -- Taiwan's foreign ministry on Thursday responded to criticism from China and Somalia on the exchange of offices between Taiwan and Somaliland, slamming their promotion of the "one China principle" and "one Somalia principle."

  • China to launch 4 ocean-observation satellites in 2 years People's Daily 20 Aug 2020 -- China will launch four ocean-observation satellites within the coming 16 months, according to China Youth Daily.
  • Gaofen-7 high-precision Earth observation satellite goes into service: developer Global Times 20 Aug 2020 -- China's Gaofen-7, a new Earth observation satellite, officially entered into service on Thursday, with "beyond imagination" applications, from measuring the height of Mount Qomolangma (Mount Everest) in the Himalayas, to spotting illegal construction hidden in forests, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC) said on Thursday.

  • Pompeo Warns Russia, China Against Opposing US Move To Reimpose Iran Sanctions Radio Farda 20 Aug 2020 -- Ahead of his planned U.N. visit on Thursday to trigger the mechanism for re-introduction of all U.N. sanctions on Iran, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened Iran's allies Russia and China with sanctions if they refuse to endorse the U.S. move.
  • China: US not allowed to use snapback IRNA 20 Aug 2020 -- The Deputy Director of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Information Department said on Thursday in a press conference that the US has withdrawn from Iran nuclear deal and does not have the right to activate snapback.

  • Rare Glimpse of Chinese Sub Outside Concealed Bunker Near South China Sea Radio Free Asia 20 Aug 2020 -- A rare sighting by Radio Free Asia of a Chinese nuclear-powered attack submarine, captured in a satellite image at the entrance of an underground base, hints at how China can marshal considerable undersea power on the doorstep of the disputed South China Sea.
  • Xi instructs army to complete follow-up tasks of flood control, disaster relief PLA Daily 20 Aug 2020 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), has instructed the armed forces to make unremitting efforts to complete the follow-up tasks of flood control and disaster relief.
  • PLA special operations soldiers conduct island-landing training in East China Sea PLA Daily 20 Aug 2020 -- Recently, a special combat brigade under the 72nd Group Army of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducted the sea-crossing and island-landing training in waters of East China Sea, including maneuvering on rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB), swimming in battle gears, armed cross-country race, island-landing and cliff-climbing, etc., in a bid to test the comprehensive combat capabilities of the service members under extreme conditions.
  • PLA navy conducts mine-hunting countermeasures training in East China Sea PLA Daily 20 Aug 2020 -- Recently, a formation of minesweeping ships attached to a mine-countermeasures ship group of the navy under the Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducted comprehensive mine-countermeasures (MCM) training in waters of East China Sea for several consecutive days, focusing on over 10 subjects including reconnaissance for underwater targets, clearing passage through minefield, clearance of naval mines in key waters, etc.

  • Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on August 20, 2020 PRC MofA 20 Aug 2020
  • Chinese diplomats urge right path for US Global Times 20 Aug 2020 -- Senior Chinese diplomats, on many occasions, have warned against the attempts by some US politicians that damage bilateral ties, as these moves have pushed the world's most important bilateral relations toward deeper confrontation.

  • US Ends Trio of Legal, Financial Pacts with Hong Kong VOA 20 Aug 2020 -- The Trump administration has suspended or terminated three bilateral agreements with Hong Kong in its latest response over the new national security law imposed on the semi-autonomous city by China.
  • US ends extradition treaty with Hong Kong amid escalating tensions with China Press TV 20 Aug 2020 -- The United States has suspended three bilateral agreements with Hong Kong related to extradition and tax exemptions, in yet another move that escalates tensions with China.
  • Hong Kong New Security Law Prompts Security Measures on US Campuses Radio Free Asia 20 Aug 2020 -- Universities in the United States are responding to a draconian national security law imposed on Hong Kong by China with warnings about "politically sensitive content" for students who risk reprisals under the law.
  • Jimmy Lai stands trial as protesters outside court call him 'traitor' Global Times 20 Aug 2020 -- Hong Kong secessionist media tycoon Jimmy Lai encountered indignant local protesters calling him a "traitor" as he went on trial on Thursday for suspicion of threatening a journalist in 2017, which showed a sharp contrast to the US President Donald Trump's comments on him one day before when Trump called Lai a "wonderful gentlemen" and "brave man."
  • China hits back as US, Five Eyes allies sanction Hong Kong Global Times 20 Aug 2020 -- China reacted against the US which motivated its allies from the Five Eyes alliance to sanction Hong Kong, by suspending the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's mutual judicial assistance with the US and its closest allies.
  • HKSAR govt condemns US move to suspend agreements, including extradition treaty, rejects being used as pawn Global Times 20 Aug 2020 -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has strongly condemned the US decision to suspend or terminate three bilateral agreements, including the extradition treaty with the city, which is widely seen as a move to create trouble in China-US ties, using Hong Kong as a pawn.

  • China's top Party school asks faculty members to draw lessons from Cai's case, strictly observe political discipline Global Times 20 Aug 2020 -- The Party School of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee has asked its faculty members to draw profound lessons from the case of Cai Xia, a retired professor from the school, after school authorities announced on Monday to rescind Cai's Party membership and revoke her retirement benefits because she made remarks that damaged the country's reputation and seriously violated the Party's political discipline.

  • Three Gorges Dam sees largest flood peak since its construction Global Times 20 Aug 2020 -- The Three Gorges Dam has seen the largest flood peak since the construction of the reservoir, reaching 75,000 cubic meters per second at 8 am on Thursday. Eleven of the reservoir's spillway holes have since been opened, discharging a record 49,200 cubic meters of water per second.
  • China makes multi-faceted efforts to ensure grain security People's Daily 20 Aug 2020 -- Since mid-July, Huang Xiaoping has been busy working in his 110-hectare paddy field, harvesting early rice and sowing for the next season.
  • Shanghai Sets Up Food Waste Tip-Off Hotline Amid Food Security Concerns Radio Free Asia 20 Aug 2020 -- Local authorities in China are scrambling to implement a presidential political campaign against food waste, as the country struggles to address food security concerns.

  • No safety concerns in China-Saudi nuclear energy cooperation: Chinese FM Global Times 20 Aug 2020 -- The Chinese Foreign Ministry said there is no cause for concern toward the nuclear energy cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia, at Thursday's media briefing.

  • Majority of 19,000 People to Be Placed in Jobs are Xinjiang Camp Detainees Radio Free Asia 20 Aug 2020 -- The majority of tens of thousands of people from a southeastern prefecture of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) who will be hired to do construction work in coming years are currently detained in internment camps, according to a source from the job center that is placing them.
  • 'This Persecution is a Cultural Genocide': British Holocaust Educator on Rights Abuses in Xinjiang Radio Free Asia 20 Aug 2020 -- Jaya Pathak, 22, is a British national of Indian descent who studies pharmacy at Brighton University in London, U.K. She is a regional Ambassador for the Holocaust Educational Trust in the U.K. and also a co-founder and deputy editor of a youth initiative called Yet Again. Using her social media, Pathak often speaks out against modern atrocities and posts on past Holocaust victims. One of her recent Twitter threads was entitled "How to help the Uyghur community from the U.K.," which attracted nearly 1,000 retweets and some 1.6k likes. Jaya Pathak's organization Yet Again is a youth lead initiative that on the day of its launch published an article about the Uyghurs and detailed China's vast network of internment camps in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), where authorities are believed to have held up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities since April 2017.



NEWSLETTER
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list