Taiwan celebrates its National Day holiday against background of Chinese threats

Taiwan celebrates its National Day holiday against background of Chinese threats
Taiwan’s National Day commemorations included military displays, but no heavy military equipment as seen in years past. (AP)
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Updated 10 October 2024
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Taiwan celebrates its National Day holiday against background of Chinese threats

Taiwan celebrates its National Day holiday against background of Chinese threats
  • The celebration marks the establishment of the Republic of China, which overthrew the Qing Dynasty in 1911
  • Taiwan was run under martial law until transitioning to full democracy in the 1980s and 1990s

TAIPEI: Taiwan celebrated its National Day holiday Thursday against the background of threats from China, which claims the self-governing island republic as its own territory.
The celebration marks the establishment of the Republic of China, which overthrew the Qing Dynasty in 1911 and fled to Taiwan as Mao Zedong’s Communists swept to power on the mainland during a civil war in 1949. Taiwan was run under martial law until transitioning to full democracy in the 1980s and 1990s but maintains the original constitution brought from China and the ROC flag.
President Lai Ching-te took office in May, continuing the eight-year rule of the Democratic Progressive Party that rejects China’s demand that it recognize Taiwan is a part of China. The Nationalists adhere to a unification stance that recognizes both sides of the Taiwan Strait as a single nation.
In a speech marking the holiday, Lai spoke of Taiwan’s technology achievements such as those driving the computer chips industry, calling it a “global force for prosperity and development.” He also praised athletes such as boxer Lin Yu-ting, who won gold at the Paris Olympics, and young people who have won prizes in international technical competitions.
Thursday’s commemorations included military displays, but no heavy military equipment as seen in years past. And it included performances with music and flag and athletic feats like flips and other stunts.
Addressing the threat from China, Lai took a firm but measured line while offering cooperation on areas from fighting infectious diseases to maintaining “regional peace and stability.”
“We hope that China will live up to the expectations of the international community, that it will apply its influence and work with other countries toward ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and end conflicts in the Middle East,” Lai said.
“And we hope that (China) will take up its international responsibilities and, along with Taiwan, contribute to the peace, security and prosperity of the region and the globe,” the president said.
Maintaining its military pressure on Taiwan, China’s People’s Liberation Army sent 15 planes across the median line in the Taiwan Strait, prompting Taiwan to scramble jets, dispatch ships and activate missile systems.
In response to such threats, Taiwan has ordered billions of dollars in fighter jets, tanks, missiles and various upgrades to existing gear from the US, while revitalizing its own defense industry with the production of submarines and other equipment aimed at deterring or fending off a Chinese attack.
At the same time, Taiwan faces economic threats from China ranging from a possible blockade of the trade-dependent island to an undermining of its financial system. China routinely states that Taiwan independence is a “dead end” and that annexation by Beijing is a historical inevitability.
Lai appeared to address such issues in his address, saying: “Finally, we must strengthen resilience throughout Taiwan in national defense, economic livelihoods, disaster prevention and democracy.”


Human Rights Watch tells NATO members to take in former Afghan policewomen

An Afghan policewoman searches burqa-clad devotees arriving for Eid Al-Fitr prayers in Herat. (File/AFP)
An Afghan policewoman searches burqa-clad devotees arriving for Eid Al-Fitr prayers in Herat. (File/AFP)
Updated 14 sec ago
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Human Rights Watch tells NATO members to take in former Afghan policewomen

An Afghan policewoman searches burqa-clad devotees arriving for Eid Al-Fitr prayers in Herat. (File/AFP)
  • Thousands are in hiding and face persecution from the Taliban for supporting former government
  • HRW report documents cases of sexual abuse, harassment including from before the Taliban took power

LONDON: Human Rights Watch has urged NATO member states to evacuate and house Afghan policewomen threatened by the Taliban.

About 3,800 former policewomen face persecution in Afghanistan, including sexual abuse and harassment, for their past roles working alongside NATO forces. Many feel betrayed by NATO for failing to transport them out of the country following the collapse of the government and the coalition withdrawal in August 2021.

HRW has published a report, titled “Double Betrayal: Abuses against Afghan Policewomen Past and Present,” which documents how thousands live in hiding in Afghanistan, with others having fled to Pakistan and Iran.

The report calls on the US, UK, EU member states, Canada and Japan to resettle the former Afghan policewomen as a priority, to put a stop to their suffering and recognize their contributions assisting the coalition in Afghanistan in maintaining law and order.

Fereshta Abbasi, HRW’s Afghanistan researcher, told The Independent about the experience of one female former police officer she spoke to for the report.

“The district police chief came to her house at night and raped her. Her husband was away that day. She cried in front of me. She said she couldn’t file a complaint because she feared her husband would divorce her and she would lose custody of her children,” Abbasi said.

Another former officer told her: “The head of intelligence for my station really harassed me. He told me that he could do whatever he wanted to me.”

Abbasi added: “Almost all of them (the former officers) have received threatening calls from the Taliban; their houses have been raided. They are being threatened by the Taliban but also by their families because being a policewoman was never accepted in the Afghan society.”

Many women who worked in the police fear reprisals from the government — but also from broader Afghan society — if they are identified.

One told HRW that the Taliban contacted her to demand she return to work, but she was concerned it was an attempt to trap her.

“I got scared and cut the phone call,” she said. “Again I received a phone call and this time I was asked, ‘will you come by yourself or shall we come and drag you by the hair?’”

She now disguises herself in public to avoid being persecuted, telling HRW: “If people find out, they might rat me out to the Taliban that I used to work for police.”

The report said that cases of poor mental health among former Afghan policewomen, including anxiety, depression and panic attacks, are common as a result of abuse.

This is compounded by the ill-treatment they faced before the Taliban took control of the country, with male police superiors frequently abusing their power over female subordinates.

“I spoke to one of the former policewomen who said she served the government in the same job role for 20 years because she rejected demands of sexual favors,” Abbasi told The Independent.

“Now, they are asked to come back by the Taliban to do menial jobs as sweepers, prison guards or clerks, but nobody can ensure their safety.”

She added: “The conditions under the Taliban are abysmal and horrifying but that doesn’t mean these policewomen who served alongside the UK and the US, among other nations, don’t get to hold those who harassed them accountable.”


Russia hits civilian, critical infrastructure, injures 10 in Ukraine

Russia hits civilian, critical infrastructure, injures 10 in Ukraine
Updated 39 min 18 sec ago
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Russia hits civilian, critical infrastructure, injures 10 in Ukraine

Russia hits civilian, critical infrastructure, injures 10 in Ukraine
  • Russia launched two ballistic missiles on the southern city of Mykolaiv in the early afternoon, targeting critical infrastructure
  • Russian troops also shelled Kherson and damaged energy equipment

KYIV: Attacks by Russian forces on Ukraine overnight and on Thursday across the country hit civilian and critical infrastructure facilities, injuring at least 10 people, Ukrainian authorities said.
Russia launched two ballistic missiles on the southern city of Mykolaiv in the early afternoon, targeting critical infrastructure, regional Governor Vitaliy Kim said.
Two people were wounded and a piece of equipment destroyed, he said in televised comments, without giving more details.
Russian troops also shelled Kherson and damaged energy equipment, according to Roman Mrochko, head of the southern city's military administration. Several settlements and part of the city were facing power outages, he said.
Separately, a flurry of Russian guided bombs early in the morning injured six people, including a 17-year-old girl, and damaged 29 buildings in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, its regional governor Ivan Fedorov, said.
Ukraine's air force said on the Telegram messaging app that it had downed 41 out of 62 drones launched by Russia. Russian forces also launched eight missiles, it added, while 14 drones were "locationally lost".
"As a result of the Russian missile and drone attacks civilian objects and critical infrastructure facilities in the Odesa, Poltava and Donetsk regions were hit," it said.
A drone attack on the central city of Kryvyi Rih injured two people and damaged a five-storey residential building, causing a fire, Dnipropetrovsk region governor, Serhiy Lysak, said.
The emergency services rescued seven people from the damaged part of the building and put out the fire at the site, he added.
Separately, a cruise missile attack late on Wednesday damaged a storage area at an infrastructure facility in the southern Ukrainian region of Mykolaiv, causing a blaze that was later extinguished, the governor said.
Regional authorities also reported late on Wednesday that a ballistic missile attack had hit port infrastructure in the Odesa region, killing eight people and damaging a Panama-flagged container ship.


UK religious hate crime hits record high over Gaza war

Muslims arrive at the East London Mosque & London Muslim Center. (File/AFP)
Muslims arrive at the East London Mosque & London Muslim Center. (File/AFP)
Updated 10 October 2024
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UK religious hate crime hits record high over Gaza war

Muslims arrive at the East London Mosque & London Muslim Center. (File/AFP)
  • There were 3,866 hate crimes against Muslims and hate crimes against Jewish people more than doubled to 3,282
  • “The appalling levels of anti-Semitic and Islamophobic hate crimes outlined in today’s figures are a stain on our society,” said interior minister Yvette Cooper

LONDON: Religious hate crime in England and Wales rose by a record 25 percent in the last year, fueled by a spike since the start of the war in Gaza, government data showed Thursday.
The highest annual figure of religious hate crimes in over a decade was due to a rise in offenses “against Jewish people and to a lesser extent Muslims” since the Hamas attack of October 7 last year, the interior ministry said.
Overall, there were 140,561 hate crimes — defined as an offense based on a person’s race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability or transgender identity — recorded by the police in the 12 months to March.
Most — 98,799 or 70 percent — were racially motivated.
Both the overall and race hate crime figures are down five percent on the previous 12 months.
But religious hate crimes surged from 8,370 in 2022-23 to nearly 10,500 — the highest annual figure since data collection began in 2012.
Hate crimes against Jewish people more than doubled to 3,282 while there were also 3,866 hate crimes against Muslims.
“The appalling levels of anti-Semitic and Islamophobic hate crimes outlined in today’s figures are a stain on our society,” said interior minister Yvette Cooper.
She promised to tackle “this toxic hatred wherever it is found,” adding: “We must not allow events unfolding in the Middle East to play out in increased hatred and tension here on our streets.
“Those who push this poison — offline or online — must face the full force of the law.”
The latest data comes just days after marches and memorials took place across the country to mark the first anniversary of Hamas’s attack against Israel and Israel’s retaliation in Gaza, which the group controls.
British faith leaders, including from Jewish and Muslim communities, have called for the public to reject “prejudice and hatred in all its forms.”
Police in England and Wales recorded a fall in hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation, disability, and against transgender people.


Myanmar junta authorities arrest prominent protest leader

Myanmar junta authorities arrest prominent protest leader
Updated 10 October 2024
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Myanmar junta authorities arrest prominent protest leader

Myanmar junta authorities arrest prominent protest leader
  • Paing Phyo Min was arrested late Wednesday after authorities entered a residence in east Yangon’s Thaketa township

BANGKOK: Myanmar security forces have arrested a prominent democracy activist and protest leader in a nighttime raid in commercial hub Yangon, a member of his protest group said on Thursday.
Paing Phyo Min was arrested late Wednesday after authorities entered a residence in east Yangon’s Thaketa township, Nan Lin of the “Anti-junta Alliance Yangon” protest group said.
Paing Phyo Min had not been heard from since, he said, adding, “We are very concerned about his life and safety.”
Amnesty International said it understood Paing Phyo Min and Shein Wai Aung, another activist, “were arrested on 9 October and sent to an interrogation center.”
Shein Wai Aung and his father, mother and sister were all uncontactable, Amnesty said.
Junta authorities in Yangon were not immediately reachable when contacted by AFP.
In 2019, under the quasi-civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi, Paing Phyo Min was jailed for six years for performing a satirical poem criticizing the military.
The sentence sparked criticism from rights group Amnesty International and he was released in 2021, according to the watchdog.
Following the military’s 2021 ouster of Suu Kyi’s government, Paing Phyo Min helped organize pro-democracy demonstrations in Yangon that were later crushed by security forces.
The junta maintains a widespread network of informants and undercover police in Yangon and has largely squashed open challenges to its rule in the city of around eight million.
“The Myanmar military must urgently account for the whereabouts and wellbeing of Paing Phyo Min and of Shein Wai Aung and his family,” Amnesty’s Myanmar researcher Joe Freeman said.
“Unless they can be charged with an internationally recognized crime, they must be immediately and unconditionally released.”
More than 27,000 people have been arrested by the junta in its crackdown on dissent since the coup, according to a local monitoring group.
“Protesting in Myanmar today is not the same as it was before the coup. Anyone involved in any kind of dissent against the military faces long jail terms, torture and other ill-treatment, and even death in custody,” Freeman said.
Security forces have used torture and sexual violence in their crackdown on dissent, according to rights groups, and the United Nations rights office said in 2022 at least 290 people had died in custody.


Shooting at Israeli company in Sweden, no injuries: police, media

Shooting at Israeli company in Sweden, no injuries: police, media
Updated 10 October 2024
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Shooting at Israeli company in Sweden, no injuries: police, media

Shooting at Israeli company in Sweden, no injuries: police, media
  • No injuries had been reported and that a young suspect had been arrested

Stockholm: An office of Israeli military technology firm Elbit Systems in Gothenburg was the target of a shooting Thursday, according to media, with Swedish police saying there were no injuries.
Police told AFP that they had responded to a shooting “against an Israeli object in Kalleback” in Gothenburg, a coastal city in southwestern Sweden.
They added that no injuries had been reported and that a young suspect had been arrested.
Newspaper Aftonbladet said the suspect was under the age of 15.
An investigation has been opened into “attempted murder” and an “aggravated weapons crime,” police spokesman Fredrik Svedemyr said.
Svedemyr said police had sent several patrols and a helicopter to the scene.
Elbit Systems said in an email to AFP that they “currently had no comment.”
In early June, police said they had found a “suspected explosive object” outside the offices of the military technology firm, known for its unmanned aerial systems.
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, there have been several incidents apparently targeting Israeli interests in Sweden.
In February, police found a grenade on the grounds of the Israeli embassy compound, which the ambassador said was an attempted attack.
In mid-May, gunshots were fired outside the Israeli embassy, which prompted the country to boost security measures around Israeli interests and Jewish community institutions.
The Scandinavian country’s intelligence agency Sapo said in late May that Iran was recruiting members of Swedish criminal gangs to commit “acts of violence” against Israeli and other interests in Sweden — a claim Iran denied.
Last week, police said once again that it was stepping up security around Israeli and Jewish interests in response to a second shooting at the Israeli embassy in Stockholm and twin blasts, suspected to be caused by hand grenades, outside the Israeli embassy in neighboring Denmark.