On April 11, 2021, the director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Gao Fu, acknowledged that China’s domestically produced vaccines offer little protection against COVID-19, reports The Associated Press.
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Ever since Taiwan separated itself from mainland China in 1949, relations between Beijing and Tapiei have been tenuous at best. At worst, the Taiwan Strait is a hotbed for diplomatic and military gridlock as Beijing and Taiwan vie for control of the region. On April 20, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army flew a squadron of 25 aircraft into Taiwan airspace, the South China Morning Post reports. While these exercises are not uncommon in the Taiwan Strait, the incursion comes at a time of great tension between China and the United States’ growing relationship with Taiwan.
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Retired Lieutenant Colonel of the U.S. Army Andy Swedlow gave a presentation on the use of terrorism in the Great Game at the School of Diplomacy on April 8. Swedlow gave a description on the history of the Great Game, different ways nation states utilized terrorism, and the effects of terrorism on the great power competition.
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Beijing has increased its naval presence in the South China Sea, fueling regional tensions. The islands of the South China Sea have been disputed between China and other Southeast Asian states since Vietnam’s 2009 reclamation of occupied islands due to overlapping claims of sovereignty.
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A crowd of diplomats gathered outside a court in the northern Chinese city of Dandong to protest the trials of two Canadian citizens accused of espionage by the Chinese government.
Read MoreOn February 28, 47 pro-democracy protesters were arrested in Hong Kong on charges of conspiracy to commit subversion, The Associated Press reports. The news comes as yet another chapter in China’s quest to exert legal control over the former British colony.
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Thousands of Hong Kong citizens have made the distressing decision to leave their city and move to the United Kingdom due to a new national security law that criminalizes supposed acts of secession, terrorism, and collusion.
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Recent Chinese military actions toward Taiwan and U.S. actions are raising concerns about a developing regional conflict ‒ and its implications on the rest of the world.
Read MoreIn early October, China completed the construction of Pangda, a village of 100 people near the Torsa River in the Himalayas. Pangda is situated in Bhutan, a small Buddhist kingdom of 800,000 that borders southwest China. The construction of Pangda, as well as other Chinese territorial claims to Bhutan, adds further strain on already sensitive Sino-Bhutanese and Sino-Indian relations.
Read MoreBrazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Governor of São Paulo João Doria clashed over the implementation of a mandatory coronavirus vaccination of the São Paulo region. Joao Doria is in favor of making CoronaVac, a COVID-19 immunization, mandatory alongside other non-coronavirus vaccines as Brazil requires. Sinovac is a China-based biopharmaceutical company developing the CoronaVac and would conduct phase three trials on the São Paulo citizens, which is favored by Governor Doria, according to the South China Morning Post.
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