Modern Sinbad

Friday, 6 May 2016

Beijing 'tightens screws' on Taiwan's new president

TAIPEI (AFP) -

When Tsai Ing-wen becomes Taiwan's president later this month, she will end a period of unprecedented rapprochement with rival Beijing -- and China is already ramping up the pressure on her new government.

Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is traditionally pro-independence and refuses to chime in with Beijing's message that self-ruling Taiwan is part of "one China".

Tsai won the presidency by a landslide in January as voters wary of closer China ties turned their backs on the ruling Beijing-friendly Kuomintang.

Since then, with a transitional government in power until Tsai is officially inaugurated on May 20, Beijing has increasingly made life difficult for Taiwan in what observers say is an early challenge to Tsai's presidency.

Taipei was furious in April after Taiwanese fraud suspects were deported to China from Kenya and Malaysia, rather than back to their home territory.

China also recognised Taiwan's former ally Gambia in March, ending an unofficial diplomatic truce between the two sides.

Taiwan has haemorrhaged allies in recent decades as they jump ship to align with a rising China, and is now only recognised by 22 states.

"Beijing wants to teach Tsai a lesson. The incidents are intentional and send a very clear message that it is tightening the screws," said Francis Hu, a political scientist at Taiwan's Tunghai University.

Some local tourism operators have reported a decline in Chinese visitors since January -- after a boom prompted by the thaw in ties -- with some speculating they are being discouraged from heading to Taiwan.

Tsai's KMT predecessor, outgoing President Ma Ying-jeou, agreed there was "one China", but with different interpretations on each side of the strait.

That earned him a landmark meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and a slew of trade deals.

Beijing wants Tsai to do the same.

"It's their bottom line," said Hu.

However, faced with increasing voter scepticism over China relations and a staunch pro-independence wing in her own party, it is a demand she is unlikely ever to meet.

- 'A cold peace' -

Taiwan split from mainland China in 1949 after a civil war, but has never formally declared independence, despite being a fully-fledged democracy.

Beijing still considers the island part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

China has been clear about its distaste for Tsai since she won the presidency -- on the day she was voted in, Beijing warned her against making any move towards formal independence.

For her part, Tsai has vowed to maintain the "status quo" with China and has given a measured response to the recent bouts of diplomatic sparring.

But she has also made clear future cross-strait policy will be "based on the principle of democracy and people's desires".

Tsai now has "a huge balancing act" to perform, said Kerry Brown, director of Lau China Institute at King's College London.

Not only must she handle Beijing and appease the electorate, she must also reassure Washington -- Taiwan's greatest ally and leading arms supplier -- that she will not rock the boat in the region, said Brown.

Her inaugural speech on May 20 is likely to reflect that high-wire act.

"She will try to maintain the moral high ground, to continue to have support from the US and the international community, by sounding reasonable, moderate, and diplomatic," Brown said.

"But she will also send Beijing a message that she will not be bullied and humiliated in front of her own people."

Observers predict Beijing will keep up the pressure when Tsai takes office, with the possible suspension of high-level dialogue between the two sides and a push for Taiwan's further diplomatic isolation.

Few believe there will be any drastic action in the near future.

"I think the most likely scenario is that China will not be satisfied but still find it acceptable," said Tang Shao-cheng, a political scientist at National Chengchi University in Taipei, who believes Tsai will toe a line in her rhetoric to calm US nerves.

However, Beijing's inherent lack of trust could lead to deterioration further down the line.

"It will be 'cold peace' in the short term -- and hot challenges in the long term," said Tang.

by Amber Wang

Colombia authorizes air strikes against criminal gangs

BOGOTA (AFP) -

Colombia authorized the use of all military force, including air strikes, against the country's three biggest criminal gangs in a major escalation against "organized armed groups."

Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas announced the directive late Thursday after a special session of a Senate committee in a violence-torn region of northwestern Colombia.

"Directive 15 permits the application of all the force of the state, without exception, against organized armed groups or groups who have major hostile capacity," he said.

Until now the military has been used only against leftist guerrilla groups, who have been negotiating an end to their half century old conflict.

The new strategy specifically targets three major crime groups -- the Clan Usuga, Los Pelusos and Los Puntilleros.

"Those three organizations from today will be pursued autonomously or in coordination by the armed forces and the police," Villegas said, speaking from the region of Apartado, a stronghold of the Clan Usuga.

They have been classified as "organized armed groups" because they use camps, long arms, uniforms and have a territorial presence, he said.

A government source said that besides air strikes, the state's use of force could include "air assault operations with special forces, ambushes, high precision snipers, supporting artillery fire."

Australia gets Singapore defence investment boost

SYDNEY (AFP) -

Singapore will invest up to US$1.67 billion in Australia's defence infrastructure and hike troop numbers it sends for training, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Friday.

The new agreement also includes commitments to open markets and trade and increase collaboration in science and research, he said, adding it would create thousands of jobs in northern Australia.

"We will jointly develop military training facilities in northern Queensland which will be fully funded by Singapore," the prime minister told reporters.

"Singapore will invest up to two-and-a-quarter billion dollars (US$1.67 billion) in the expansion of two of our most important military training facilities," he said, naming Shoalwater Bay and Townsville.

Turnbull said upgrading the Free Trade Agreement between the countries would make it much easier for Australians to live and work in Singapore.

"This is a great day for the Australian Singapore relationship," he said, dismissing concerns that deeper ties between Canberra and Singapore could rankle China.

Some 6,600 Singaporean troops already train each year in northern Australia. Under the new deal this will climb to 14,000, staying for 18 weeks instead of the current six, trade envoy Andrew Robb said.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) signed with Canberra last year was "an ambitious package covering many aspects of our relationship".

"Our two countries are politically like-minded, strategically aligned and economically complementary. We have much to gain by working closely together," he said in a statement.

Singapore is Australia's fifth-largest trading partner, with gold and crude petroleum key exports.

As it looks to Asian markets for growth, Australia will encourage greater collaboration in research with Singapore and locate one of its five start-up "landing pads" in the city state to promote innovation and entrepreneurship.

More than 70 dead as Syria army battles jihadists south of Aleppo

BEIRUT (AFP) -

Fighting between Syrian regime forces and Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadists and their allies has left more than 70 dead south of the battleground city of Aleppo, a monitor said on Friday.

Al-Nusra Front and allied Islamists seized Khan Tuman and surrounding villages after less than 24 hours of clashes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Spain reports first case of Zika-related microcephaly

BARCELONA (AFP) -

Spanish health authorities said they had detected the country's first known case of the microcephaly birth defect in the foetus of a pregnant woman infected with the Zika virus.

"A pregnant woman was infected by Zika and dengue and the foetus has shown various defects," the health authority of the Catalonia region said in a statement.

This was Spain's first case of Zika-related microcephaly, where babies are born with abnormally small heads and sometimes brain damage.

A total of 105 people in Spain have been infected with the mosquito-borne Zika virus, according to official statistics from May 3.

Spanish authorities have said all the infection cases -- including 13 pregnant women -- are "imported cases" found in people either "from, or who have visited affected countries" in Latin America.

The current Zika outbreak began in early 2015 in Brazil, where some 1.5 million infections have been reported. Since then, the epidemic has spread to several other countries in the Americas.

Scientists believe the virus to be responsible for a surge in Brazilian infants born with microcephaly.

There is no vaccine or treatment for the virus, which in most people causes only mild symptoms -- a rash, joint pain or fever.

Japan schools a 'hateful' place for LGBT students: rights group

TOKYO (AFP) -

Japanese schools are filled with "hateful" comments about gay and transgender people, including from teachers, which aggravates bullying and drives some students into depression, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report on Friday.

"Hateful anti-LGBT rhetoric is nearly ubiquitous in Japanese schools, driving LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) students into silence, self-loathing, and in some cases, self-harm," the group said.

The study was based on interviews with dozens of students from the LGBT community, and also teachers, who HRW said were often a key part of the problem.

"The information vacuum combined with pervasive hateful comments from students and teachers alike means sexual and gender minority children in Japan sometimes first struggle with their identities with shame and disgust," it said.

Nearly every interviewee "said that they heard anti-LGBT rhetoric in school, including LGBT people called 'disgusting,' the use of slur words such as 'homo,' and declarations that 'these creatures should never have been born,'".

Japan lags behind the US and many other Western nations in terms of gay rights and same-sex marriage, despite greater public acceptance of the LGBT community in recent years.

Among those interviewed, Sachi N., a 20-year-old lesbian, said she learned in class that homosexual relations were the main cause of AIDS and were a "very weird thing to do".

"Everything I heard and was taught (about LGBT people) was bad," she was quoted as saying.

"Even though now I am a lesbian and I know it, I still have a bad concept of it. I still think it?s my fault and I can improve it."

Bullying is widespread -- and sometimes brutal -- in Japanese schools, and government policies geared to fixing the problem do not specifically address LGBT students, who are among the most vulnerable, the rights group said.

"The government should urgently bring its (anti-bullying) policies to protect LGBT students in line with international standards and best practices," said Kanae Doi, HRW's Japan director.

Israel hits Gaza after mortar fire across border

GAZA CITY (PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES) (AFP) -

Israeli aircraft struck a Hamas facility in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday after cross-border mortar fire, the Israeli army said, as violence continued for a third day.

"In response to the ongoing attacks against Israeli forces, Israel Air Force aircraft targeted a Hamas terror infrastructure," an army statement said.

Palestinian witnesses said there were two sets of air raids, one targeting Beit Lahia in northern Gaza and the second in Khuzaa, southeast of Khan Yunis, in the south of the territory.

There were no reports of any casualties.

It was the fourth air raid on Gaza since Wednesday, when direct clashes between Hamas and Israeli forces broke out for the first time since a devastating 2014 war.

On Thursday, Israeli tank fire killed a Palestinian woman in her Gaza home.

Since the clashes broke out, Hamas and other militant groups have fired at least 10 mortar rounds across the frontier, and the Israeli air force has carried out four strikes on Gaza.

Israeli tanks stationed on the border have also fired repeatedly at what the army said were Hamas targets.

Late on Thursday afternoon, tank fire that followed a mortar attack from the Khan Yunis area killed Zeina Al-Amour, 54, according to the Nasser hospital that pronounced her death.

A 21-year-old was also wounded in shelling of the area.

The Palestinian attacks targeted Israeli forces searching along the border, and up to 100 metres (yards) inside Gaza, for tunnels crossing into southern Israel.

The army announced that it found a previously undetected tunnel on Thursday, after a first find was revealed with extensive media coverage in mid-April.

The flare-up has raised concerns over the fate of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist rulers of Gaza, that has held since the 50-day war left more than 2,251 Palestinians and 73 Israelis dead.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to convene his security cabinet on Friday morning to discuss the latest developments, public radio reported.