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U.S. arrests five alleged Chinese agents, accusing them of targeting dissidents

InternationalOct 29. 2020Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers, left, and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray on Wednesday. 

By The Washington Post · Devlin Barrett · NATIONAL, WORLD, ASIA-PACIFIC 
WASHINGTON – The FBI has arrested five individuals on charges they conspired as foreign agents in an operation called “Fox Hunt” to try to force immigrants from China who angered that country’s leadership to return there to be punished, officials announced Wednesday.

“China is violating norms and laws left and right,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray, adding that the unprecedented case sends a clear message to the Chinese government that “surveilling, stalking, harassing and blackmailing our citizens and lawful permanent residents carry serious risks.”

Assistant Attorney General John Demers said Fox Hunt sometimes targeted individuals who might have violated financial laws and were legitimate targets of law enforcement investigations. But many other targets, he said, were political rivals, dissidents or critics of the Chinese government. Pursuing those people with threats and coercion, sometimes directed at the relatives of those targeted, represents “a clear violation of the rule of law and international norms,” he said.

Rather than use established legal systems such as Interpol or requests for assistance from U.S. law enforcement, the Chinese agents took matters into their own hands and tried to intimidate people into returning to China, U.S. officials said.

The announcement marks the latest effort by the United States to fight back against what it says is China’s wanton disregard of laws regarding computer hacking, surreptitious influence operations and intellectual-property theft. It also highlights an ongoing tension between the two countries over law enforcement issues – the People’s Republic of China and the United States have long been at odds over a host of extradition issues, and the charges announced Wednesday show how much more contentious that disagreement has become.

Arrests were made in New York, New Jersey and California, officials said. Four of those said to be Chinese government operatives were identified as Zhu Yong, Hongru Jin, Rong Jing and Zheng Congying. The fifth person in custody is Michael McMahon, a New Jersey private investigator who assisted in the surveillance and pressure tactics, according to U.S. officials.

Three other suspects – Zhu Feng, Hu Ji and Li Minjun – were charged as participants in the conspiracy but are not believed to be in the country.

“With today’s charges, we have turned the PRC’s Operation Fox Hunt on its head – the hunters became the hunted, the pursuers the pursued,” Demers said.

Court papers say the surveillance and harassment of Chinese American targets stretched from 2016 to 2019. In one case, the ring allegedly brought the elderly father of one target from China to the New York area to “threaten and attempt to coerce” the man, identified only as John Doe-1, to return to China.

China also allegedly tried to pressure the same man’s adult daughter, taking pictures and videos of her as part of their pressure campaign. In September 2018, they allegedly left a note on the man’s door, stating: “If you are willing to go back to mainland and spend 10 years in prison, your wife and children will be alright. That’s the end of this matter!”

The charges, which include conspiracy to act as an agent of China and conspiracy to commit interstate and international stalking, carry a maximum possible prison sentence of five years.

Last month, the Justice Department charged five Chinese nationals in separate global hacking schemes targeting more than 100 video game companies, universities and other victims. At the time, Washington accused Beijing of tolerating such crimes because the defendants allegedly worked on behalf of the country’s spy services as well.

The Trump administration has made criticism of China a centerpiece of its foreign policy, chiefly on issues surrounding trade and competition in the global marketplace.

“No country can be respected as a global leader while paying only lip service to the rule of law and without taking steps to disrupt brazen criminal acts like these,” Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said in September when the hacking charges were announced.

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Hong Kong activists turned away in bid for refuge at U.S. Consulate, advocacy group says

InternationalOct 29. 2020Activist Tony Chung protests in Hong Kong in 2017. (AP) 

By The Washington Post · Shibani Mahtani · WORLD, ASIA-PACIFIC 

HONG KONG – Tony Chung had been planning his asylum bid for weeks. He had sent documents to Washington earlier this month, the advocacy group helping him with the process said, and he hoped he could soon resettle in the United States.

But Chung – a founder of a pro-independence student group in Hong Kong who was among the first to be arrested under Beijing’s new national security law imposed in late June – was growing nervous ahead of a scheduled check at a police station, part of his bail terms.

So on Tuesday, Chung and four other Hong Kong activists sought to reach the U.S. Consulate in hopes of speeding up the process, according to the London-based advocacy group Friends of Hong Kong and local media reports.

Chung, 19, was apprehended by several men and taken away before he could reach the consulate gates, a video of the incident obtained by the South China Morning Post showed. The other four – a U.S. citizen among them, according to Friends of Hong Kong – briefly entered the consulate later that afternoon, but they had their requests for refuge inside the compound rebuffed and were turned away.

Two other former members of Chung’s group, Studentlocalism, were separately arrested Tuesday.

The scenes underscored the desperation of Hong Kong protesters and activists in the city, who fear political persecution and unfair trials. It also raises questions about why the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong would have turned away an American citizen appealing for help.

The State Department “cannot comment on our communications with U.S. citizens,” said a spokesperson, citing privacy concerns. Asylum “can only be requested upon arrival in the United States,” the spokesperson added.

The United States, in very rare cases, has protected Chinese activists at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, and it is also rare for the United States to grant refuge inside its other diplomatic compounds around the world.

The Hong Kong police said they had arrested three people between the ages of 19 and 21 on Tuesday, and have released two on police bail, without naming them. A 19-year-old remains in custody, police said. The Hong Kong police declined to comment further on the asylum seekers, referring The Washington Post instead to the Security Bureau, a government department.

In responses to questions from The Post, a spokesman for the Hong Kong government said it “does not comment on media reports.” The spokesman added that “people in Hong Kong are prosecuted for acts in contravention with the laws of Hong Kong regardless of their political beliefs or backgrounds.”

“There is no justification for any so-called ‘political asylum’ for people in Hong Kong,” the spokesman added.

Hong Kong officials have previously asserted there is no “political persecution” in the territory.

Friends of Hong Kong, which describes itself as defending “rights, freedom and democracy” in Hong Kong, said Chung contacted the group in October, wishing to petition the U.S. government for asylum. The group spoke to The Post on the condition that the other four who sought refuge at the consulate were not named. The Post was unable to independently contact them or Chung.

Chung was arrested in July shortly after Beijing passed a new national security law in Hong Kong, designed to put an end to the political unrest and street protests last year by punishing broadly worded crimes like “terrorism” and “secession” with up to life in prison. He and three other former members of Studentlocalism, the group he helped found, were accused of posting a message on social media that advocated for Hong Kong to be independent from China.

Chung described his arrest as politically motivated.

The other four people who attempted to enter the U.S. Consulate were not members of Studentlocalism, the group said in a social media post. According to Friends of Hong Kong, which was similarly helping them with their asylum bid, the other four had all been arrested in connection with anti-government protests in Hong Kong that began in June 2019 and all have impending court trials on a variety of charges. One among them was a U.S. citizen.

The national security law, and the fear it has caused among Hong Kong activists, has prompted Western countries and Taiwan to put in place assistance programs and “lifeboat” policies for residents of the financial center hoping to flee.

Countries including Germany, Australia, the United States and Canada have recently granted asylum requests from Hong Kong residents, angering Beijing.

The United States, in particular, risks further deterioration in the relationship with China over the issue. Many activists favor asylum in the United States, perceiving the Trump administration as broadly backing the goals of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement after it signed legislation that opened the door to sanctions against those who had undermined Hong Kong’s autonomy.

Eleven Hong Kong and Chinese officials, including Chief Executive Carrie Lam, were targeted in August for restricting Hong Kong’s freedoms and undermining the territory’s autonomy, and President Donald Trump has ended the territory’s special status that allowed it to be treated separately from the Chinese mainland.

In July, the United States was forced to close its consulate in Chengdu, amid escalating U.S.-China tensions. Chinese state newspaper the Global Times in a tweet warned that the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong could face a similar fate if it were to start granting asylum to Hong Kong residents from its premises in the city. There is no indication that the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong was processing asylum requests or that it plans to offer protection for Hong Kong activists.

The U.S. Embassy in Beijing has on very rare occasions shielded Chinese activists, including astrophysicist and pro-democracy advocate Fang Lizhi, who was allowed to travel to Britain in 1990 after a year at the embassy.

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Job recovery in S’pore likely slow and uneven despite immediate rebound in retail, F&B: MAS

InternationalOct 29. 2020MAS noted that Covid-19 has also led to changes in consumption patterns, which could dampen labour demand. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI 

By Charmaine Ng
The Straits Times/ANN

SINGAPORE – The road to recovery for the labour market is likely to be slow and uneven, with resident unemployment rates taking a longer time to reach pre-crisis levels compared with during the global financial crisis, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

In its review of the macroeconomic situation released on Wednesday (Oct 28), MAS said the unemployment rate of Singaporeans and permanent residents is expected to decrease gradually next year after peaking in the second half of 2020, but will remain elevated overall.

It added that this will weigh on wages for the rest of this year and possibly into 2021.

These projections for the labour market are despite employment prospects looking up in the immediate term in the retail and food and beverage (F&B) sectors, and in support services such as cleaning and security industries.

These business areas rebounded quickly with Singapore exiting the circuit breaker in June, said MAS.

In construction, the gradual resumption of activities in the second half of this year would also likely lead to more hiring.

As for the travel-related sector, MAS said some modest employment recovery can be expected with the easing of safe distancing measures and, in particular, the resumption of meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (Mice) events and some cruise operations.

However, longer term recovery will be protracted, as activity in the travel-related sector is expected to be weak for an extended period of time, leading to spillovers to the rest of the economy which will weigh on the overall labour market.

These include land transport operators such as taxi and private hire car services, which have likely seen a sizeable shortfall in income due to the lack of inbound leisure and business travellers.

MAS noted that Covid-19 has also led to changes in consumption patterns, which could dampen labour demand.

For example, working from home could become more prevalent, reducing demand for transportation services as well as social and recreational activities.

The uncertain macroeconomic outlook will also hold back overall labour market prospects, as activity in many sectors could be weaker than expected with further balance sheet strains, said MAS.

This is likely so even in better-performing industries, as firms may have brought forward hiring, encouraged by temporary government incentives such as the Jobs Growth Incentive.

But when compared with foreign employment, local employment is expected to rebound more strongly, partly due to government wage subsidies supporting the hiring of locals.

However, the resident unemployment rate will likely take a longer time to recover than during the global financial crisis.

Residents who were previously discouraged from seeking employment could re-enter the labour force as the economy recovers, and individuals under the SGUnited training programmes could add to the number of unemployed workers when looking for jobs.

Skills mismatches could also hamper hiring, as Covid-19 is likely to accelerate the decline of low- and mid-skill services jobs being replaced by less labour-intensive, automated processes.

More jobs are expected mainly in modern services sectors, which includes firms that provide professional, financial and technology services such as cyber security and banking services.

“These emergent skills mismatches between excess labour supply and new labour demand may increase search frictions and impede labour market re-allocation,” said MAS.

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US officials told to stop stirring trouble in Asia

InternationalOct 29. 2020Activists protest outside the United States embassy in Colombo against US intervention in Sri Lanka’s domestic affairs on Oct 27, 2020. The protest came a day ahead of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit. [Photo/Agencies] 

By MO JINGXI
China Daily/ANN

China urged some US politicians on Wednesday to stop hyping up the so-called “China threat” and undermining regional peace, stability and development.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin made the remark as United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper pushed an anti-China message as they attended the US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.

The two US Cabinet officials said that increased US-Indian military and strategic cooperation will help the two nations manage China’s growing influence in Asia. The countries signed a defense agreement that allows the US to share top-secret satellite and sensor data with India.

It is the latest in a series of US-India military agreements designed to counter China’s presence in the Indo-Pacific region.

“We always believe that the development of bilateral relations between any countries should be conducive to peace, stability and development of the region. It should not harm the interests of a third party,” Wang told reporters at a news briefing in Beijing.

Wang said that any concept of regional cooperation should conform to the trend of the times for peace and development as well as win-win cooperation.

But the Indo-Pacific strategy proposed by the US is preaching the old-fashioned Cold War mentality, group confrontation and political games. It is aimed at upholding the hegemony of the US, he added.

“We urge some politicians in the US to abandon the Cold War and the zero-sum mentality …and to stop the wrong actions of denigrating China’s relations with other countries in the region,” Wang said.

Calling the border issue between China and India a bilateral matter, Wang also said that the two sides are currently dealing properly with related issues through negotiations and talks.

The Chinese embassy in India said in a statement that there is no space for a third party to intervene in the issue.

“China and India have the wisdom and ability to handle their differences properly,” the embassy said.

Pompeo arrived on Wednesday in Sri Lanka, the second leg of his Asia tour. Speaking at a televised news conference in the capital, Colombo, Pompeo described China as a predator and the US a friend and partner.

Wang said that forcing small-and medium-sized countries to pick sides is a habitual behavior of certain US officials.

“Friendly cooperation between China and Sri Lanka on the basis of equal coordination and mutual benefit has brought tangible benefits to the two peoples, and this cannot be altered by any smear or slander by others,” he said.

Ruan Zongze, executive vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies, said that one purpose of Pompeo’s visit to South Asia, where many countries have good relations with China, is to try to organize an exclusive, anti-China clique by attacking China with rumors and slander.

“Such an attempt is doomed to fail. It only shows how the US has been tirelessly fabricating contradictions in order to contain China’s development,” Ruan said.

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[Philippines] Easy entry of 4 million Chinese raises fears of ‘soft invasion’

InternationalOct 29. 2020CHINESE PRESENCE Chinese workers help build the China-funded Estrella-Pantaleon bridge project to connect Mandaluyong and Makati cities. Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan is seeking a Senate investigation into the presence of 4 million Chinese nationals in the country since 2017, saying it has national security implications amid fears of an “orchestrated soft invasion” by China. —RICHARD A. REYES 

By DJ Yap
Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN

MANILA, Philippines — The unhampered entry of millions of Chinese nationals into the Philippines may be the start of an “orchestrated soft invasion” by China, an opposition senator warned on Wednesday.

In a proposed resolution, Sen. Francis Pangilinan called for an inquiry into the “national security implications of the entry of around 4 million Chinese into the country since 2017.”

“It is worrying, especially considering we have issues [with China] in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.

Immigration rackets

The proposed inquiry in aid of legislation stemmed from the findings of a Senate committee that corrupt Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers had allowed the hitch-free entry of 4 million Chinese nationals since 2017 in exchange for billions of pesos in bribes through various rackets.

The moneymaking operations uncovered during hearings held by the committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality included the “pastillas” racket and the visa-upon-arrival (VUA) policy.

The panel chair, Sen. Risa Hontiveros, estimated that P40 billion had exchanged hands in these rackets.

“Given the lenient requirements for foreign national retirees and the seemingly unchecked entry of some 4 million Chinese nationals into the country, there is a need to look into whether this is an orchestrated ‘soft invasion’ of our country,” Pangilinan said in the proposed resolution he filed on Tuesday.

Cash-strapped neighbors

Soft invasion was the term used by Capt. Jim Fanell, former intelligence chief of the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet, to describe China’s strategy of “invading” its cash-strapped neighbors, especially the island nations in the region.

Fanell said in a November 2019 television interview that the Chinese were “coming in with soft power and lots of cash to buy out local officials, to gain access to ports and airfields, and resources that give them a controlling monopoly in the islands.”

Pangilinan noted that the hearings led by Hontiveros found that it was Department of Justice Order No. 41 issued by Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II in 2017 that paved the way for the virtually unhampered entry of Chinese nationals under the VUA policy.

Senators learned that of the 4 million Chinese who entered the country since 2017, 150,000 did so under the VUA.

Pangilinan also cited the recent disclosure by the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) that the Chinese comprised the biggest group of foreigners who had availed themselves of the special retirees residence visa (SRRV), which makes the Philippines their “second home” that they could freely enter anytime.

Soldier’s age

The PRA, an agency under the tourism department, said nearly 40 percent of the foreign retirees, or about 28,000, were Chinese. Many of them were as young as 35.

After Sen. Richard Gordon raised the alarm that retirees of “soldier’s age” could pose a national security problem, the PRA suspended issuing new SRRVs pending a review of the retirement program.

In his resolution, Pangilinan said China’s increased presence in the country was not limited to the millions of its nationals who had entered the Philippines since 2017.

“In July, the Philippine government protested the presence of more than a hundred Chinese vessels, which are believed to be part of China’s fishing militia, [at] Pag-asa Island and the West Philippine Sea,” he said.

“Filipino fishermen in the area who are civilians and have no military training, unlike their Chinese counterparts, are subjected to threats and harassment. Moreover, the country’s natural resources are exploited,” he added.

China funds

Pangilinan cited other soft invasion concerns involving the investment and infrastructure projects funded by China, as well as debt exposure, geopolitical risks, and sovereignty issues.

He said the government must not be tempted to sell out to China.

“The Philippines is for Filipinos. Some of our officials should not be blinded by money and exchange the Philippines for a few pieces of silver,” Pangilinan said.

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S. Korea, Japan hold working-level talks on wartime history, trade

InternationalOct 29. 2020Shigeki Takizaki (Yonhap) 

By The Korea Herald/ANN

Diplomats of South Korea and Japan held talks in Seoul on Thursday that were expected to focus on a prolonged row between the two countries over Tokyo’s wartime forced labor and export curbs.

The meeting between Kim Jung-han, director general for Asia and Pacific affairs at the foreign ministry, and his Japanese counterpart, Shigeki Takizaki, marked the first such talks since Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga took office last month.

Takizaki arrived here Wednesday on a three-day visit.

Ahead of the talks with Kim, the Japanese official also met separately with Seoul’s top nuclear negotiator, Lee Do-hoon, for discussions on the Korean Peninsula and North Korea’s denuclearization. Takizaki doubles as Japan’s chief nuclear envoy.

His visit comes at a time when relations between Seoul and Tokyo remain badly frayed over the issue of compensating Korean forced labor victims and Tokyo’s export restrictions on Seoul imposed in retaliation for South Korean court rulings that ordered Japanese companies to pay damages to the victims.

South Korea has taken steps to auction off some of the South Korea-based assets owned by Nippon Steel Corp. to cash them out for the compensation.

Japan has warned of countermeasures if the procedure goes ahead and urged South Korea to come up with a solution, based on its claim that reparation issues stemming from the 1910-45 period when Korea was a Japanese colony were settled by a 1965 treaty that normalized their bilateral relations.

Also on the agenda for the talks was likely to be Japan’s potential discharge into the sea of contaminated water from its Fukushima nuclear plant, to which Seoul is paying close attention in terms of potential environmental impacts.

Thursday’s talks also marked the first in-person meeting between Kim and Takizaki since February, as the coronavirus pandemic has put restraints on physical meetings. Their last working level talks took place virtually in June. (Yonhap)

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Indonesia records 400,000 COVID-19 cases at start of long weekend

InternationalOct 29. 2020

By Ghina Ghaliya
The Jakarta Post/ANN

Indonesian health authorities confirmed Wednesday that the total number of COVID-19 cases has reached 400,000 eight months into the outbreak.

According to Health Ministry data released on Wednesday afternoon, there were 4,029 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the overall tally to 400,483. A total of 13,612 people have died of the disease, while 325,793 people have recovered.

Jakarta remains the country’s epicenter of the outbreak with 103,552 cases as of Wednesday, followed by East Java with 51,732.

The announcement was made as people began an extended weekend after the government declared Oct. 28 and Oct. 30 collective leave days for the public holiday celebrating the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (Maulid) on Thursday.

Epidemiologists warned that the long holiday weekend would be a test for the country.

National COVID-19 task force spokesperson Wiku Adisasmito urged people to consider all risks when deciding to go on a holiday. He reminded the public to adhere to the government’s strict health protocols on wearing masks and washing hands regularly.

He also encouraged offices to take anticipatory measures by taking note of employees with plans to go on vacation in regions that have been declared medium- or high-risk zones.

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Democrats in Pennsylvania, North Carolina claim key wins at Supreme Court ahead of election

InternationalOct 29. 2020

By The Washington Post · Robert Barnes · NATIONAL, POLITICS, COURTSLAW 
WASHINGTON – Democrats won two significant Supreme Court victories involving voting deadlines in key battleground states Wednesday, as the justices allowed extended periods for receiving mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

They declined to disturb decisions that allow Pennsylvania officials to receive ballots cast by Election Day and received within three days, while the grace period set by the elections board in North Carolina is nine days.

In both of the cases, the Republican Party and GOP legislators had opposed the extensions, and President Donald Trump has railed on the campaign trail about the mail-in vote.

Three conservative justices – Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito Jr. and Neil Gorsuch – objected in both cases. 

New Justice Amy Coney Barrett did not to participate in either case. Her decision did not signal a blanket recusal in election cases involving Trump, who nominated her, as Democratic senators sought for her to pledge during the confirmation process. Instead, Barrett indicated through a court spokeswoman that the cases needed prompt decisions andthat, having started work Tuesday, she did not have time to fully review the legal arguments.

The court in the past few days has confronted deadline extensions for mail-in ballots in three states. It did not allow one in Wisconsin championed by Democrats. The seemingly contradictory decisions appeared based on a difference noted by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr.: that the court should be reluctant to approve changes imposed by federal judges, as in Wisconsin, but view those imposed by state courts or agencies differently, as was the case in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

Moreover, the issue in Pennsylvania, a state that proved vital to Trump’s election four years ago and is key to his reelection, might not be settled.

Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch signaled that they might want to revisit the case after the election, and even indicated the votes received after Election Day ultimately might not be counted.

The three penned a statement criticizing the ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that called for three extra days to receive mail-in ballots because of the crush of requests brought on by fears of the coronavirus pandemic, writing that it was probably unconstitutional. 

“There is a strong likelihood that the State Supreme Court decision violates the Federal Constitution,” wrote Alito. 

“The provisions of the Federal Constitution conferring on state legislatures, not state courts, the authority to make rules governing federal elections would be meaningless if a state court could override the rules adopted by the legislature simply by claiming that a state constitutional provision gave the courts the authority to make whatever rules it thought appropriate for the conduct of a fair election.”

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision to grant the extra time was based on a “Free and Equal Elections Clause” in the commonwealth’s constitution.

According to the majority, that provision requires elections to be “conducted in a manner which guarantees, to the greatest degree possible, a voter’s right to equal participation in the electoral process,” and affords courts “broad authority to craft meaningful remedies when required.” 

The justices who voted not to accept the Republican request did not explain their reasoning, although the court said additional statements may be forthcoming.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who earlier this month had voted with the other three conservatives to grant a Republican request to stop the deadline extension in Pennsylvania, did not join Alito’s statement.

On Oct. 19, the Supreme Court’s 4 to 4 vote left the Pennsylvania court’s ruling in place. But Republicans renewed their request when it became clear that Barrett, Trump’s third appointee to the court, would be confirmed in time to make a last-ditch pitch. 

Trump on Wednesday said at a news conference that he was depending on courts to keep states from counting ballots received after Election Day, even those clearly postmarked before then.

“Hopefully the few states remaining that want to take a lot of time after November 3rd to count ballots, that won’t be allowed by the various courts,” the president said.

The president apparently was referring to ballots received after Nov. 3, because states always are counting votes after Election Day, and do not certify the outcome for weeks.

Alito said there was not enough time to review the Pennsylvania court’s decision before the election.

But he noted that the denial of the motion to take it up now “is not a denial of a request for this court to order that ballots received after election day be segregated so that if the State Supreme Court’s decision is ultimately overturned, a targeted remedy will be available.”

With that in mind, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said in a statement the fight might not be over, and urged voters not to depend on the mail.

“The Commonwealth has taken careful steps to ensure all eligible Pennsylvania votes will be counted and to stave off further anticipated legal challenges,” he said. “We call on all voters to submit their mail-in ballots to a drop box or county election office as soon as possible.”

In the North Carolina case, a divided federal appeals court had upheld a decision of the North Carolina elections board to extend the deadline for receipt of mail-in votes postmarked by Election Day, calling the measure a “common sense change” at a time when the U.S. Postal Service is inundated with ballots.

In a 12-to-3 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit rejected Republican efforts to block the extension, which would allow counting ballots received up to nine days after the election. 

The dispute divided North Carolina’s government, where Republicans control the legislature but the governor and attorney general are Democrats.

Attorney General Joshua Stein defended the elections board, saying it was doing exactly what the legislature has empowered it to do.

“The board – a bipartisan body whose members are appointed by the governor from lists submitted by the two major political parties – unanimously concluded that the challenged measures were appropriate in light of the COVID 19 pandemic emergency and the resulting mail delays,” Stein’s brief to the Supreme Court said, referring to the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

“In recent elections, the state board has frequently exercised its authority to extend statutory deadlines and make other adjustments to deal with exigent circumstances.”

For instance, in the past three years alone, the board has twice extended the absentee-ballot receipt deadline after hurricanes hit the state. “No one challenged those extensions,” Stein said. 

In July, the Postal Service warned North Carolina that it might not be able to meet the state’s standards for return of absentee ballots, Stein said.

But Republican legislative leaders tried to block the extension in state and federal court. A district judge rejected their request for an injunction because of concerns about changing voting rules so close to an election. The lawmakers, joined by national Republican committees and the president, then asked the appeals court to intervene.

At the Supreme Court, House Speaker Timothy Moore and Senate President Philip Berger said that the extension could raise “the specter of a post-election dispute over the validity of ballots received during the disputed period in North Carolina.”

They said the actions of the bipartisan election board was an “an unprecedented effort to usurp the North Carolina General Assembly’s prerogative to regulate federal elections in North Carolina.”

Gorsuch agreed, in a dissent joined by Thomas and Alito.

“Last-minute changes by largely unaccountable bodies . . . invite confusion, risk altering election outcomes, and in the process threaten voter confidence in the results,” he wrote.

He noted that the court had turned down the extension in Wisconsin and said, “in some respects, this case may be even more egregious.”

As in the Pennsylvania case, he said the court owed deference to the legislature, which he said saw its work earlier in the summer undone by the elections board and state judges, who he said “worked together to override a carefully tailored legislative response to COVID.”

The Pennsylvania cases are Scarnati v. Boockvar and Republican Party v.Boockvar. The North Carolina cases are Moore v. Circosta and Wise v. Circosta. 

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Philadelphia imposes curfew, calls in National Guard as protests continue over Walter Wallace shooting

InternationalOct 29. 2020Around 1,000 demonstrators protested the fatal police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. in Philadelphia. Wallace Jr. was fatally shot by two Philadelphia police officers after refusing to drop a knife he was holding. MUST CREDIT: Washington Post photo by Joshua Lott, 

By The Washington Post · Robert Klemko, Katie Shepherd, Maura Ewing, Mark Berman, Griff Witte · NATIONAL, COURTSLAW, RACE 
PHILADELPHIA – The mayor imposed a curfew on Philadelphia on Wednesday and called in the National Guard following successive nights of rioting after police shot to death a Black man whose family said he was in the midst of a mental health crisis.

The moves by Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, a Democrat, were aimed at curbing incidents of looting, fires and dozens of minor injuries to officers that officials said were caused by people taking advantage of the backlash against the shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. to commit crime. The unrest disrupted peaceful protests against police violence, including one that was called off Wednesday night in response to the imposed curfew starting 9 p.m.

“The looting that has taken place … is distressing to say the least, and it is unacceptable,” Kenney said in an afternoon news conference. Those carrying out mayhem, he added, are “doing a great disservice to the many others who want to exercise their First Amendment rights by protesting.”

Thousands of people have marched through the city in recent days, demanding justice for Wallace, who was 27, and an end to the discriminatory policing that they say has targeted Black residents.

“We’re out here to decimate the system that’s meant to decimate us,” said Mikal Woods, a 24-year-old Black man who lives in the West Philadelphia neighborhood that has been rocked by the shooting and subsequent protests. “They shot that man to kill him. Fourteen times.”

The order to shut down the city overnight came as Philadelphia’s police union demanded that authorities release information about the Monday afternoon shooting that has so far been kept out of public view. “Release what you have. Support your officers, back your officers and let’s get a handle on this thing,” said union president John McNesby, noting that Wallace was armed with a knife when he was shot.

Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw declined, at least for now. She said officers’ body-cam footage and the audio from a 911 call would be released publicly, but not before Wallace’s family has the opportunity to review them. Outlaw said that would happen “in the near future,” but didn’t specify when.

The unrest in Pennsylvania’s largest city has unfolded in the waning days of a presidential race in which racial justice and law enforcement are both high on the agenda and the state could tip the balance. President Donald Trump and former vice president Joe Biden continued on Wednesday to offer markedly different responses to Wallace’s shooting, and its aftermath.

Biden has expressed sympathy for the Wallace family, vowed to prioritize reforms in the way communities respond to mental health crises and condemned destructive behavior, while expressing solidarity with protesters. On Wednesday, the Democratic nominee noted that Wallace’s family has urged calm and an end to the violence.

“I think to be able to protest is totally legitimate, totally reasonable,” Biden told reporters after voting in Delaware. “But there’s no excuse for the looting.”

Trump has not mentioned Wallace by name, only referring to his death obliquely, calling it “a terrible event.”

But he has repeatedly castigated Democratic officials in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, blaming them for the disorder Monday and Tuesday nights.

“What I’m witnessing is terrible,” Trump said. “The mayor, or whoever it is, is allowing people to riot and loot and not stop them. It’s also just a horrible thing.”

The president said federal resources would be available “within one hour” if local officials asked.

Kenney on Wednesday said Trump “brings no positive help to any situation.” The mayor’s request for National Guard troops was approved by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, who also on Wednesday signed an emergency proclamation authorizing state resources to be sent to the city.

Officials said the National Guard would be on the streets by Friday night, and that the forces would be assigned to protect buildings and other key sites.

Outlaw, the police commissioner, acknowledged Wednesday that the city had been caught off guard by the scale of the rioting and by the location. Much of Tuesday night’s looting took place at big-box stores in the city’s Port Richmond section, an area that she said had not been on the department’s radar as a potential target. She said as many as 1,000 people were involved, having converged on the site after probably having receiving word via a group text.

“We had zero information to warn us of this,” Outlaw said.

Police on Tuesday night made 81 arrests, mostly for burglary. Nearly two dozen officers were injured, most with cuts and bruises from thrown objects. One was hospitalized Monday night with a broken leg after being struck by a truck, the police commissioner said.

“They’re bringing bricks in backpacks,” she said. “We’re not talking about little stones or pebbles.”

Wallace died Monday after two Philadelphia police officers shot him multiple times while responding to a call reporting a man with a knife. His family said he suffered from mental health issues, which his doctors had been treating with medication. A lawyer for the family told the Associated Press on Tuesday that Wallace’s relatives had called for an ambulance to take him to the hospital for medical care, but police showed up instead.

A video of the fatal encounter raised questions about why officers approached a man in an apparent mental health crisis with guns drawn and why they did not first try to subdue Wallace with a less lethal weapon. Authorities have said the officers were not armed with Tasers due to budget restrictions that have prevented widespread distribution of the devices.

Wallace is among at least 806 people fatally shot by police so far this year as of Wednesday, according to The Washington Post’s database tracking such shootings. Mental health issues have been a consistent element of these fatal shootings since The Post began its database in 2015. This year, 1 in 5 fatal shootings by police have involved people who were suffering from mental health issues or in the midst of a crisis.

This recurring pattern has prompted questions about whether police have the training needed to respond to such issues and spurred calls for officials to find different ways to respond.

Officials have pleaded for patience as they investigate what happened when Wallace was killed. Authorities have released few details about the episode, saying they were still trying to understand what the officers knew when they encountered him and why they opened fire. Cellphone video shows Wallace advancing toward the officers when shots ring out.

On Tuesday, officers took a more aggressive tack than they had on Monday, filling the streets with lines of riot police blocking the path of demonstrators, who had gathered at Malcolm X Park in West Philadelphia and wound their way through residential streets.

“Who killed Walter Wallace?” protesters chanted. “No justice, no peace! No racist police!”

As protesters marched, a truck lit up with photos of Wallace rolled through the streets, a neon message displayed on its rear doors reading: “I don’t hate cops. I hate that cops don’t speak against the killing of Blacks by cops.”

Pascale Vallee, a 34-year-old graduate student studying public health, said the killing of Wallace was “shameful.” She said she saw his death as “the intersection of so many ‘-isms’: racism, ableism.”

“He needed social supports,” she added, “not bullets.”

As the protests spread out from West Philadelphia into several other parts of the city and grew increasingly volatile late Tuesday, the Philadelphia Police Department issued a request for residents near the unrest to stay home and remain indoors.

By 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, the protests near 52nd Street were broken up by police, who detained and arrested dozens as they marched toward angry crowds. Officers chanted, “Move, back! Move, back!” and repelled rocks, bricks, kicks and shoves with scuffed plastic shields and batons.

Walter Wallace Sr., the father of the man killed Monday, denounced the looting Tuesday evening. “They’re not helping my family; they’re showing disrespect,” Wallace Sr. told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Stop this violence and chaos. People have businesses. We all got to eat.”

It was a message echoed late Wednesday afternoon by Bonitto Redley, 69, owner of Hill’s Barber Shop, as he prepared for the curfew to kick in.

“The people who are destroying property are not protesters,” said Redley, whose business has been a fixture in the neighborhood for more than 40 years. “They’re not worried about Wallace being dead. They’re not worried about his family. They’re robbers, losers.”

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

Trump, Biden push opposing strategies in closing days

InternationalOct 29. 2020Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, exit a polling place after voting in Wilmington, Del. In the final days of the campaign, Biden and President Trump have crystallized opposing messages on the pandemic. MUST CREDIT: Washington Post photo by Demetrius Freeman 

By The Washington Post · Anne Gearan, Amy B Wang, John Wagner · NATIONAL, POLITICS 

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump pushed ahead Wednesday with a strategy for the closing days of the campaign that minimizes the threat from the coronavirus pandemic, misstates his record in confronting it and mocks Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s caution in campaigning amid a disease that has killed more than 225,000 Americans.

Biden, during remarks in Delaware, blasted Trump for what he characterized as recklessness in handling the pandemic as Trump held crowded rallies in Arizona.

With five days to go before Election Day on Nov. 3, the two candidates have crystallized opposing messages on a pandemic that has affected most aspects of American life, including voting.

Biden holds small, carefully staged events where he typically wears a mask and asks attendees to stand far apart. He blames Trump for failing to check the spread of the virus and calls the election a referendum on Trump’s leadership during the crisis.

Trump tells crowds that the pandemic is nearly over and that precautions such as school closures are themselves dangerous, while he assembles tens of thousands of people for political rallies despite mandates and public health advice against large gatherings.

“We’re rounding the turn, regardless,” Trump said near the start of remarks in Bullhead City, Ariz.

“Normal life will fully resume. That’s what we want, right? Normal life,” Trump said.

It is a message intended to project optimism not supported by science, as public health experts predict many more months of disruption. Trump is betting that his defiance and nonchalance – including about his own covid-19 diagnosis and hospitalization this month – will resonate with Americans fed up with pandemic restrictions.

“This election is a choice between a Trump boom and a Biden lockdown,” Trump said in Arizona, a battleground state he carried four years ago but where recent polls show a competitive race.

People standing behind Trump mostly wore masks, as recommended by public health authorities, but many in the larger crowd in front of him did not. Trump mocked masks, saying the virus can easily penetrate some of them, and he ridiculed the recommendation by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, that people replace their masks between bites when dining out.

“And boy, you know, when you have spaghetti and meat sauce, that mask is not looking” good, Trump said to laughter.

Trump does not wear a mask when campaigning. He has also complained that the news media is intentionally trying to undermine him by focusing heavily on the pandemic.

“Covid, Covid, Covid is the unified chant of the Fake News Lamestream Media,” he tweeted Wednesday. “They will talk about nothing else until November 4th., when the Election will be (hopefully!) over.”

Meanwhile, a drop in the stock market threatens to cloud Trump’s campaign message that he is delivering an economic recovery that will soon become a boom.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 943 points Wednesday and is down nearly 9% since Sept. 2.

The sell-off that began two weeks ago has been triggered by a nationwide surge in new coronavirus cases and dimming prospects for an economic relief package in Congress.

Biden’s running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., also campaigned in Arizona on Wednesday, while Vice President Mike Pence went to Wisconsin and Michigan, two states Trump narrowly carried in 2016 but where Biden holds now leads in recent polls. Pence has been widely criticized by Democrats and public health experts for continuing to travel despite at least five people in his office testing positive for the novel coronavirus last week.

Trump campaigned in both Midwestern states Tuesday, where he mocked pandemic restrictions imposed by Democratic governors.

Biden leads Trump by nine percentage points nationally, 52% to 43%, according to a Washington Post average of national polls since Oct. 12.

A pair of Post-ABC News polls released Wednesday show Biden narrowly ahead of Trump among likely voters in Michigan by 51% to 44% and ahead among likely voters in Wisconsin by 57% to 40%. Trump is also trailing in recent polls in Pennsylvania and Arizona, with a closer race in Florida.

The Biden campaign believes it is well-served by hammering the message that Trump has mishandled the pandemic and that his reelection would endanger the health care that Americans receive under the Affordable Care Act.

Biden on Wednesday lambasted what he called Trump’s premature declaration of victory over the coronavirus, and he pledged to put in the hard work needed to “get our lives back a lot more quickly.”

“Even if I win, it’s going to take a lot of hard work to end this pandemic,” Biden said in Wilmington, Del. “I’m not running on the false promise of being able to end this pandemic by flipping a switch.”

He promised that if elected, “we will deal honestly with the American people, and we’ll never, ever, ever quit.”

“That’s how we’ll shut down this virus so we can get back to our lives a lot more quickly than the pace we’re going now,” he said.

Biden pointed to the situation Tuesday night at the site of Trump’s rally in Omaha, where hundreds of attendees waiting to depart on buses stood in the cold for hours as police scrambled to help those most at risk.

“Several folks ended up in the hospital,” Biden said. “It’s an image that captured President Trump’s whole approach to this crisis.”

The image Trump cared about – of a packed house cheering him on – had already happened, Biden suggested.

“He gets his photo op, and he gets out,” Biden said. “He leaves everyone else to suffer the consequence of his failure to make a responsible plan. It seems like he just doesn’t care much about it.”

In the two weeks leading up to the election, Biden’s schedule has been relatively sparse compared with Trump’s. Biden on Monday visited one of his field offices in Chester, Pa., about 20 minutes from his home in Delaware, and on Tuesday traveled to Georgia to campaign in Warm Springs and Atlanta. On Wednesday he was back in Delaware, this time to meet with health experts advising him on covid-19.

Biden – who enjoys higher poll numbers on the question of who voters trust more to handle the pandemic – avoids shaking hands with supporters, opting instead to elbow bump if he comes close enough to them at all. He generally wears a mask, if not two, and at times has kept his mask on even while speaking from a lectern.

Social distancing is enforced at his rallies, sometimes with white circles drawn on the ground or spaced-out chairs. At a Florida car rally this week featuring former president Barack Obama, an announcer repeatedly reminded the crowd to stay within touching distance of their vehicles at all times.

“I don’t like the idea of all this distance, but it’s necessary,” Biden said at his car rally Saturday in Bucks County, Pa., where he spoke to rows of vehicles and heard honks instead of applause. “What we don’t want to do is become superspreaders.”

The Biden campaign confirmed Wednesday that it is dispatching Harris to Texas – traditionally a Republican state that Trump carried by nine percentage points in 2016 – amid fresh signs of a tight race there this year.

The campaign said Harris would make three stops Friday – in Fort Worth, McAllen and Houston – marking the first visit to the state this cycle by a member of the Democratic ticket. Democratic lawmakers in Texas were notified this week that the trip was in the works.

Confirmation of Harris’s plans coincided with a change in the state’s rating Wednesday by the Cook Political Report from “Leans Republican” to “Toss Up.” The publication noted Biden doesn’t need to carry the state to prevail in the electoral college but said it is “clear that it’s more competitive than ever.”

A Post average of recent polls shows Trump leading Biden in Texas by three percentage points.