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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/asia-pacific/40022774

Monday, December 5, 2022

MONDAY, DECEMBER 05, 2022

Check out what’s hot in the region as The Nation puts together headlines from members of Asia News Network (ANN). Click to read more:

ANN news highlights: Mon, Dec 5, 2022
Bringing Asia Closer

Energy Japan
Power-saving winter starts for households, businesses – The Japan News

A power-saving period started Dec. 1, with the government asking households and businesses across the nation to conserve electricity during the winter. The period is set to end in March next year.

Vocano Indonesia
Indonesia’s Mount Semeru volcano erupts, top alert status triggered | AFP for Borneo Bulletin

Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupted yesterday spewing hot ash clouds a mile into the sky and sending rivers of lava down its side, sparking the evacuation of nearly 2,000 people exactly one year after its last major eruption killed dozens.

Covid-19 China
——————————
China further relaxes Covid-19 rules despite high infection numbers – Straits Times

Some Chinese cities further eased Covid-19 measures over the weekend, including scrapping test result checks at some places, in yet another sign that China is setting the stage for moving towards co-existing with the virus.

Urumqi lifts more COVID-19 restrictions – China Daily

The Grand Bazaar pedestrian street in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and skiing resorts will open from Sunday as the city’s COVID-19 outbreak has been further contained, local government said.

China’s Xi unwilling to accept vaccines despite threat from protests | Reuters for Inquirer 

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is unwilling to accept Western vaccines despite the challenges China is facing with COVID-19, and while recent protests there are not a threat to Communist Party rule, they could affect his personal standing, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said on Saturday.

Myanmar Crisis 
7 students sentenced to death: UN | AFP for The Daily Star

The Myanmar junta handed out at least seven more death sentences this week, taking the tally of those on death row to 139, according to the United Nations.

A young woman beaten, shot dead, and was forced to make a confession that she was a “military informant,” according to a video circulating on social media  | Eleven Media

A video clip on social media showed a young woman who was beaten, forced to confess to being a “military informant,” and later shot dead on a pavement spread. 

Drones being deployed to monitor Bangladesh-Myanmar border | The Daily Star

The home ministry has decided to use drones to monitor the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Indo-Pacific 
Calls for more US economic engagement in Indo-Pacific region at US security forum – Straits Times

Defence leaders at a security forum on Saturday lamented the United States’ lagging economic engagement in the Indo-Pacific region, noting that it failed to keep up with China and even risked undermining America’s security presence in Asia.

Taiwan
Japan-China joint poll: Half see Taiwan contingency as likely – The Japan News

Some 44.5% of respondents in Japan and 56.7% in China believe a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait is likely “within a few years” or “in the future,” a recent Japan-China joint public opinion poll has found.

Diplomacy Laos-China
Lao, Chinese presidents hold talks in Beijing, witness signing of cooperation deals – Vientiane Times

Secretary General of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party’s (LPRP) Central Committee and President Thongloun Sisoulith held talks with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on November 30.

Asia Media Forum
Opinion: Lights, camera, action – on the world’s stage – The Star/ANN 

The global spotlight wouldn’t be anything new for Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister.

Islam
Opinion: World Cup host Qatar seeks to change minds on Islam – Dawn

A professor of Sharia law at Qatar University says the World Cup should be used to counter Islamophobia.

World 
Opinion: The end of the world? (2) | Inquirer 

The worst polluters paying the most susceptible, poorer countries to adjust to a higher temperature world, called “the loss and damage agreement” was the only positive outcome of the conference, achieved after a tumultuous two-day extension. But, desirable as that is, it does little to reduce the pollution of the atmosphere. What is particularly worrying is that the rich countries had tried to keep this funding off the agenda, but they were forced into it.

City Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City tasked to become Southeast Asia’s economic hub by 2030 – Vietnam News

Ho Chi Minh City is tasked to become a modern city that leads the country in digital economy and an economic hub of Southeast Asia by 2030.

Business S Korea
LG Chem to supply plant-based plastic first to Mattel – Korea Herald

LG Chem, South Korea’s leading chemical firm, said Sunday that it will launch a new acrylonitrile butadiene styrene product using plant-based raw materials, with the first batch being supplied to US toy manufacturer Mattel.

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A year without hagwon, away from concrete jungle

MONDAY, DECEMBER 05, 2022

The exchange program between children from Seoul and rural areas offers time to learn things textbooks can’t teach.

Childhood is no longer filled with dreams. Instead, it is beset by competition, pressure and anxiety, as more children are exposed to an overheated education environment from an early age.

But some students and their families are taking a step away from the heat, travelling south for a sabbatical at a countryside school.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, in charge of primary and secondary education in the capital city, has been encouraging students to try out a school life in the countryside.

The education office’s program invites elementary school students and first- and second-grade middle school students for a year in the rural area.

They can attend small countryside schools, either by moving with their parents, staying at a farmhouse or staying in a local dormitory.

As of November, 263 students have participated in the program, with 149 families signing up. Seventeen of them have been in the program for almost two years since it kicked off in early 2021.

“The future generation of students really have to perceive the world with ecological sensitivity,” Cho Hee-yeon, superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, said Monday in an interview with The Korea Herald.

Though one may worry about providing education for their children outside of Seoul, the capital city filled with top schools and private education institutions, Cho is sure that is not the case. He believes public education in rural areas can fill the void.

Children at Cheontae Elementary School in Hwasun, South Jeolla Province (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education)

“With the COVID-19 pandemic, small schools in the countryside have an advantage as students can continue their studies regardless of the pandemic situation,” Cho said, referring to the way city schools had to switch to online schooling.

“Though the countryside may not be able to offer private education, students can learn to become more self-directed,” Cho said. “Also, as there are fewer students, teachers can pay more attention to each one. Some after-school classes are conducted one-on-one.”

Those who have participated in the program say they are thankful for the opportunity to leave the concrete jungle for a greener environment, try out new activities, such as insect observation, rice transplanting or even just playing with rocks.

“The best part about staying in Gokseong was experiencing nature,” Kim Mi-jin, a parent to two elementary school children who have been attending school from Gokseong, South Jeolla Province wrote in an essay book published by the Seoul education office.

“I hope that my children can grow up and visit Gokseong again to see how the trees they had planted earlier this year have grown, reminding them of our time here,” she wrote.

At small countryside schools, students are friends with everyone.

“It is so strange that I am friends with everyone at my school,” Han Yu-jin, a fifth-grade student who stayed in Hwasun, South Jeolla Province, wrote. “My friends in Seoul came to visit and were very jealous. I am thankful that my mom had the courage to move down here for us.”

The education office’s partnership with schools, which started out with South Jeolla Province, has expanded to North Jeolla Province, driven by the high demand from students and their families. From next year, it will include schools in Gangwon Province.

For small countryside schools — with many on the verge of closing down due to decreasing number of students — students from Seoul keep the schools going. Students who did not have classmates earned the chance to make friends.

But as the program is one-sided, Cho is considering expanding the program both ways, starting by offering short-term stays in Seoul for students from rural areas.

Authorities are hoping the program can boost the local economies of rural areas. Unbalanced concentration in economic activities between Seoul and other regions has been a major problem in Korea.

In the end, Cho concedes that the school exchange program is a temporary measure. But he is hoping that some families stay. The countryside has fallen behind in terms of development, partly due to its low population level.

“The agenda is to make those who come for a short-term stay settle down. There are state-led efforts to help city people settle down in rural areas. But they have not been enough,” Cho said. “We are hoping there are students’ parents who considering settling down through experiencing the countryside.”

The Korean Herald 

Asia News Network

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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/china/40022762

China increasing arms exports to Middle East and Eastern Europe

MONDAY, DECEMBER 05, 2022

China is expanding its arms exports beyond Asia to the Middle East and Eastern Europe, potentially heightening its military influence while Russia is focused on its invasion of Ukraine and the United States is accelerating its weapons support for Ukraine.

According to data released in March by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, China’s arms exports from 2017 to 2021 accounted for 4.6% of the global total, making it the fourth largest arms exporter in the world after the United States, Russia and France.

The volume of China’s exports during this period decreased by 31% from the 2012-2016 period, possibly affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic. However, “Chinese arms capabilities have improved, and exports are expanding,” a diplomatic source in Beijing said.

According to a SIPRI report released in December, the combined arms sales of five Chinese companies in 2020 was an estimated $66.8 billion (about ¥8.69 trillion), up 4.6% from the previous year. Chinese companies had the second largest share of the global arms market after U.S. firms.

China’s largest export destination was Pakistan, which is at odds with India — 47% of China’s arms exports went to Pakistan from 2017 to 2021. By March this year, China had exported its J-10C fighter jets mounted with domestically produced engines to Pakistan for the first time, and last November, China delivered a state-of-the-art frigate.

China has a border dispute in Kashmir with India and is exporting arms to countries near India. Bangladesh, located to the east, was the second largest export destination, accounting for 16% of China’s arms exports over 2017 to 2021. China also sends military aircraft and other equipment to Myanmar.

Drones and missiles

According to the U.S. website Defense News, China has been exporting armed drones to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iraq and Jordan. The site notes that these drones have been used in conflict zones in countries including Libya and Yemen.

China’s exports grew by 290% to Saudi Arabia and by 77% to the UAE from the 2012-2016 period to the 2017-2021 period, SIPRI has said.

The Associated Press has reported that China delivered HQ-22 surface-to-air missile systems to Serbia in early April. The United States and Europe are concerned that such sales amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could lead to instability in the Balkans.

Unclear principles

China’s arms sales are expected to continue expanding, particularly to developing nations. A source familiar with the inner workings of the Chinese military told The Yomiuri Shimbun that “the Chinese military will further increase its domestic production of weapons and enhance their capabilities.”

The U.S. government has various conditions for arms exports, including considering whether the arms could be used to undermine human rights or to conduct genocide or other crimes against humanity.

Beijing, however, has only indicated three conditions: The arms will contribute to the importing country’s legitimate self-defence capabilities; they will not undermine regional and global peace and security, and they will not interfere in the importing country’s internal affairs.

Concerns over China’s unclear principles have in some cases affected its arms exports.

According to the U.S. government’s Voice of America international news service, China’s planned delivery of a submarine to Thailand by the end of next year has been put on hold because a German company refused to supply its engines. The German side reportedly said it had not been consulted in advance about the military use of the engines.

The Japan News

Asia News Network

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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/europe/40022756

Germany’s Scholz says it’s a grave mistake to stop talking to Russia

MONDAY, DECEMBER 05, 2022

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday it would be a grave mistake to completely stop talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Scholz made his remarks after he and Putin had a phone conversation on Friday to discuss Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

“That is why it is also important that the French president and I, as representatives of the G7 countries, as two Nato countries, keep seeking dialogue again. However, without any illusions,” Scholz said at the award ceremony for the Marion Doenhoff Prize which this year was awarded to Irina Scherbakowa, a founding member of the Russian human rights organisation Memorial.

Scholz said he talked about the Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and the need for Russian troops to withdraw from Ukraine.

“I will continue to so, no matter how long the talks last,” Scholz added.

In his laudatory speech before handing over the prize to Scherbakowa, Scholz praised her work and said she was receiving the prize for all Russians who could image a “different, better, brighter future for Russia.”

Memorial was also awarded the Peace Nobel prize this year, along with Belarusian human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski and the Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties.

Reuters