Japan's Sinister Move

The Japanese authorities are about to bring horrible disaster to the Korean nation and humanity.

Some time ago, Greenpeace disclosed that the Japanese government is planning to release a large quantity of contaminated water into sea, as the capacity of the storage tank of radioactive water at the Fukushima Atomic Power Plant reaches its limit in 2020.

In case Japan discharges over 1 100 000 tons of radioactive water into the sea, even the waters around the Jeju Island will be polluted in a few months and the whole East Sea of Korea in a year, and subsequently the Pacific Ocean as a whole will be reduced into a "dead ocean", causing serious harm to humanity.

This clearly shows the brutal nature peculiar to Japan which does not hesitate to destroy the global ecological environment and victimize mankind for its own interests.

Many countries operate nuclear power plants in the world. But it is only Japan, a barbarous state, that openly announces the discharge of nuclear waste, threatening even the existence of other countries and nations.

As the first victim of nuclear disaster in the world, it has told over and over again about the damage and aftereffects it suffered, whenever opportunity avails itself.

But, the disclosure of Japan's plan for discharging polluted water proves that the Japanese government's outcries over nuclear disaster and its aftereffects are little short of hypocrisy, and that Japan is deeply steeped in gangster-like disposition to harm other countries and nations and even the whole mankind for its own interests.

The first victim that will suffer huge damage caused by Japan's release of radioactive water is none other than the Korean peninsula.

Now, all the Koreans are convulsed with indignation against Japan, a war criminal state which committed heinous crimes against the Korean nation and humanity in the past and is still perpetrating new unethical crimes, far from making an apology and reparation for the past crimes.

Japan is, indeed, the centuries-long sworn enemy that has always remained harmful to the Korean nation.

The Basel Convention effectuated in 1992 and amended and supplemented this year bans dumping harmful wastes out of border in order to protect the environment of the earth.

Japan's plan to discharge contaminated water is an open challenge to the international convention and a crime seriously threatening the existence and security of mankind.

The Korean nation and the international community will never allow Japan to contaminate with nuclear waste the sea, a precious asset common to mankind.

KCNA 

Korean Stamp Display to Mark DPRK’s 71st Birthday

Many Korean stamps were put on display at the Korean Stamp Exhibition House on September 4 in celebration of the 71st founding anniversary of the DPRK.

A stamp carrying the image of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un delivering his first historic New Year Address is seen at the exhibition venue.

Stamps and bills are displayed under the title of "My Great Country". They showcase the course of historic struggle covered by the Workers’ Party of Korea and the Korean people have vigorously advanced the cause of building a Juche-oriented power by embodying the people-first principle.

On display are the stamps showing the heroic struggle of the Korean people recorded in the victorious annals of the country, independent in politics, self-supporting in the economy, which has advanced by dint of self-reliance under the seasoned leadership of the peerlessly great men.

The show will last till September 14.

KCNA 

Japan Should Liquidate Its Past Crimes

Demand for Japan's liquidation of its past crimes has become more vocal in the international community. Such voice is now heard even in the US.

Some time ago, Brad Sherman, member of the House of Representatives, said at a talkfest that Japan should make a thorough acknowledgement, reflection and apology for its past war crimes.

A professor of George Washington University in an article for the Washington Post criticized Japan for its dishonest reflection on the past.

This shows the pressing need for Japan to liquidate its past and proves that everyone gets angry at Japan desperately and impudently denying its crimes of aggression.

Those countries which committed crimes during wars, including the Second World War, made or are still making sincere apologies and reparations to the victimized countries, victims and the bereaved families for their crimes in conformity with the UN Charter and the demand of the international community.

Shortly ago, the German President during his visit to Italy honoured the memory of those killed by the SS units of the Nazis apologized and requested for forgiveness of war crimes by Germany, confirming that Germany's responsibility for the crimes would never come to an end.

Contrary to this, Japan, a criminal state, impudently approaches its past.

Japan is such an impudent criminal state which has not yet admitted its war crimes more than seventy years since the end of the Second World War, to say nothing of apology, reflection and reparation for them.

Without any guilty conscience, it is working hard to embellish and justify its blood-stained history and repeat it.

Japanese politicians made a group visit to the Yasukuni Shrine to pay homage to the war criminals in April and with the anniversary of its defeat as an occasion this year.

It is not accidental that the international community is deeply concerned about the behaviour of the island nation, including its persistent moves to retrogressively revise the constitution and boost the military muscle, its active efforts to make the "Self-Defense Forces" advance into foreign countries, its vicious economic retaliation and the farce to pull down the statue of a girl sexual slave for the imperial Japanese army.

As unanimously viewed by the international community, Japan is drastically veering to the right and its moves to distort history and revive militarism are getting undisguised with each passing day.

It persistently dodges an apology, reflection and reparation for its heinous crimes against the Korean nation and the Asian people. This is the manifestation of its ambition to realize the old dream of the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" and become the "leader of the East" by repeating its history of aggression.

Japan is a country which drank a bitter cup of defeat after it challenged justice and human conscience in the last century.

It should immediately come out to liquidate its past crimes, squarely facing up to the trend of the times, if it does not want to see its disgraceful past repeating.

The past of Japan can never be forgotten or fade away.

The DPRK will certainly settle accounts with Japan for its past crimes.

KCNA 

14th National Conference of Teachers Held

The 14th National Conference of Teachers was held at the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium on September 3.

Present at the conference were Kim Jae Ryong, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, member of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK and premier of the Cabinet; Pak Thae Song, member of the Political Bureau and vice-chairman of the WPK Central Committee; Jon Kwang Ho, vice-premier of the Cabinet; Choe Tong Myong, department director of the WPK Central Committee; Kim Sung Du, chairman of the Education Commission, chairpersons of provincial Party committees, exemplary teachers and educational workers, leading officials in the educational field in Pyongyang, provinces, cities and counties, those teachers who volunteered to work at branch schools on islands, in forefront and mountainous areas, families of educationists and educator couples, officials of related units, including the organizations that gave active support to the educational work and Sin Kil Ung, head of the delegation of education officials of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan.

The conference analyzed and reviewed the successes and experience as well as faults in the struggle to implement the Party's policy on bringing about a radical turn in education in recent years and discussed practical issues for improving educational work.

Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un's work "Teachers Should Fulfil Their Duty as Career Revolutionaries in Implementing the Party's Policy on Bringing About a Radical Turn in Education" was read out by Pak Thae Song.

Premier Kim Jae Ryong delivered a report.

A congratulatory group of the Korean Children's Union entered the venue of the conference and recited a congratulatory poem, titled, "Congratulations to teachers across the country".

Speeches were made there.

The conference adopted a letter of pledge to Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un.

Kim Jong Un's Work Delivered to Participants in 14th National Conference of Teachers

Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un’s work "Teachers Should Fulfil Their Duty as Career Revolutionaries in Implementing the Party's Policy on Bringing About a Radical Turn in Education", talk to the senior officials of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea on August 22, Juche 108 (2019), was delivered to the participants in the 14th National Conference of Teachers.

In the work the Supreme Leader clarified that the purposes of holding a national conference of teachers this time is to powerfully arouse all the teachers to implementing the Party's policy on bringing about a radical turn in education, to enhance the overall educational level of the country and further expedite the building of a socialist power of education and a talent power.

He said that the successes, experience and faults in the course of implementing the Party's policy on bringing about a turn in education should be analyzed and reviewed and practical matters for bringing about a drastic improvement in education be discussed at the conference to make it an occasion of a turning point in developing the education of the country.

The Party set forth the policy on effecting a radical turn in education in the new century to glorify the DPRK as a country of education and a talent power, emphasized the tasks for materializing them in several important conferences, including the 3rd Plenary Meeting of the 7th WPK Central Committee, and made sure that the entire Party and the whole country and all the people turned out in the drive for their implementation, he said.

He pointed out that education has not yet been kept up with the Party's intention and it is left far behind the world trend of educational development.

He stressed the need to draw a serious lesson from those mistakes and set them straight as early as possible.

He said that we face heavy yet sacred tasks of bringing about a drastic turn in education and expediting the building of a powerful country of education and a talent power as early as possible. He continued:

The building of a powerful country of education and a talent power precisely means the building of an economic power and a powerful socialist country. Education is one of the most important state affairs and it represents the lifeline of the drive for building a powerful socialist country.

Science and technology are a locomotive propelling the economic development of the country as well as an important criterion demonstrating the national strength; the matrix of science and technology is education.

The competitions of national strength between the countries become science and technology competition, education competition and competition for more talents underpinning it, and its fierceness reminds of an invisible war. Developed countries make study of the potential changes in the future society and set the orientation of future education and shape education strategy and policies for training talents while giving spurs to carry out them.

The intention and determination of our Party at present are to bring about a radical turn in education, definitely put the education of the country on the highest level in a short period and bring up all the students to be revolutionary talents who would shoulder upon the future of the powerful and prosperous country.

Our Party demands the revolutionary talents who are working for the socialist construction with full awareness about the Party, the revolution, the country and the people, and the creative talents possessed of profound technical knowledge, encyclopaedic knowledge and high pursuit and application ability.

Effecting a turn in education should not just be done by way of repeating or following others but be done by creative, innovative and forward-looking way of challenging the world, competing with the world and going ahead of the world so as to make the level of education of our country excel other countries.

Teachers should fulfil their responsibilities and duties as career revolutionaries in order to carry out the Party's policy on bringing about a turn in education and successfully build a powerful country of education and a talent power.

Bringing about a radical improvement in education is, in essence, effecting a turn in the qualifications of teachers who are like frontline soldiers in effecting a turn in education.

All the teachers should become firm roots and rich compost for teaching future generations and hold high the flame of a drastic turn in education under the uplifted banner of "Let's bring up students to be able revolutionary talents and guarantee the future of the country!"

All the teachers must possess high qualifications and noble personality as career revolutionaries and work with sincerity at their posts all their life.

The teachers should possess high qualifications.

Qualification of teachers just means the qualification of education and high calibre of students and the speed of the country's advance.

They should possess noble virtue as befits educators.

They should dedicate themselves to the education of future generations with noble sense of responsibility.

They should have the attitude and stand that they are responsible for their students before the country not only during their school days but also after their graduation.

They have to become genuine revolutionaries and ardent patriots before becoming educators.

The Supreme Leader stressed the need to put primary efforts on strengthening the teachers' camp in order to realize the Party's plan on building a powerful country of education and a talent power. He went on:

Strengthening the teachers' camp is a prerequisite to developing education and an important guarantee for building an education power and a talent power.

As primary and secondary school education are very important for the growth of people, teachers entrusted with the education of primary and secondary school children should be trained in a qualitative way.

University teachers' camp has to be strengthened.

The Supreme Leader said that in order to successfully build a powerful socialist country of education and a talent power, it is imperative to update education system, improve the contents and methodology of education and put the education on a scientific basis in the education sector to meet the modern trend of the development of education and pedagogical requirements.

Priority should be given to primary and secondary education and primary efforts must be put into it, he said, and continued:

Higher education should be improved and strengthened.

Education must be put on a scientific basis and education management be improved and enhanced.

Education management should be put on a regular footing so as to make education administration institutions and schools in Pyongyang and other provinces honour their responsibilities and roles.

Proper work should be planned to introduce things advanced in those countries with developed education to suit to the specific conditions of our country.

The Supreme Leader underlined the need to thoroughly establish the trait of giving top priority to education and talents throughout society. He went on:

Officials, leading personnel of the revolution, should work for education with their sleeves rolled up.

State investment in education should decisively be raised and material conditions necessary for education should be fully provided.

The social trait of prioritizing education should be set up and all the people should turn out in improving education conditions and environment as parents would do for their own children.

The social traits of respecting teachers and treating them preferentially should be established.

The Supreme Leader called for further enhancing the role of the Party organizations in implementing the Party's policy on education.

He said that intensified drive should be waged to prevent practices tarnishing the image of our socialist education system such as teachers complaining about conditions and getting keen on preserving their posts only, far from devoting themselves to the education of future generations.

Kim Jong Un in the work called on all the teachers and education officials to dedicate wisdom and enthusiasm to education of future generations, well aware that they are directly responsible for effecting our style turn in education, and thus fulfil their responsibilities and duties as frontline soldiers on the front of educating talents and career revolutionaries.

KCNA 

Talks Held Between DPRK and Chinese FMs

Talks were held at the Mansudae Assembly Hall on September 2 between Ri Yong Ho, foreign minister of the DPRK, and Wang Yi, state councillor and foreign minister of the People's Republic of China.

At the talks, they had an in-depth discussion of practical issues for further developing the friendly and cooperative DPRK-China ties in keeping with the noble intention of the top leaders of the two countries.

They also had an exchange of views on the issues of mutual concern such as the situation on the Korean peninsula.

The talks proceeded in a comradely and friendly atmosphere.

Present at it from the DPRK side were Ri Kil Song, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, O Ryong Chol, vice-minister of External Economic Relations, and officials concerned, and from the Chinese side Luo Zhaohui, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Bingnan, vice-minister of Commerce, Deng Boqing, deputy head of the state office for international development and cooperation, and suite members and Li Jinjun, Chinese ambassador to the DPRK, and his embassy members.

KCNA 

Yuen Long Bill Pioneers to Restore Rule of Law, Address Social Problems: Expert

By Xu Keyue
Global Times
2019/9/5 23:14:55

A banner with the words "Defend Yuen Long's harmony and maintain regional tranquility" is displayed on a street in Yuen Long, Hong Kong on July 23. Photo: Yang Sheng/GT

Hong Kong's Yuen Long District Council became the first council in Hong Kong to pass a bill to curb violence, which experts hailed as a pioneering step to restore the rule of law and address social problems.

The bill aims to support the police to stop violence and disorder, and urges the government to take immediate and effective measures to quell the unrest, and to keep residents from getting injured or even killed, Hong Kong news outlet wenweipo.com reported on Thursday.

The bill was passed on Tuesday by a 23-6, with one abstention, the report said.

The bill followed a series of riots from radical protesters in Yuen Long district, including one on July 21 which injured 45 people.   

The bill urges the government to fully support the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) in its investigation of allegations against the police, instruct the police to set up a special team to arrest people in riots and create a dialogue platform as soon as possible.

Tian Feilong, an associate professor at Beihang University in Beijing and an expert on Hong Kong studies, told the Global Times on Thursday that ending escalating violence is most urgent for Yuen Long, which suffered the most serious violence and conflicts in the past months.

Passing such a bill shows Yuen Long's determination to adhere to the principle of the rule of law, Tian said, noting the other 17 districts should pass similar bills as soon as possible.

Conflicts between Yuen Long residents and protesters in July triggered violence, which suggested people's lives were ruined by radical protests, Tian said. The bill urges police to conduct a thorough investigation.   

The bill also advised the government to appoint scholars to a special team to study the social problems in Hong Kong and provide advice to the government. The team will study the cause of the unrest in Yuen Long, and its social and economic impact, wenweipo.com quoted district council member Leung Che-cheung as saying.

Shum Ho-kit, chairman of the district council, noted that Hong Kong should also deal with deep-seated social problems.   

Tian said once the rule of law is restored, the bill could help address the social problems and improve the people's livelihood.

Nation Lowers Tax Rate on Heavy Rare Earths to Support Industry

Global Times
2019/9/5 23:48:41

A worker unloads rare earths along the Yangtze River's banks in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on May 9. Photo: IC

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has formalized a new law that reduces the resource tax on heavy rare earths from 27 percent to 20 percent, a move that analysts said shows China's resolve to support the industry's development amid a heated trade war.

Heavy rare earths, where China has a dominant position in the global market and widely used in the defense sector, are widely regarded something that Beijing could weaponize to threaten US economic and national security.

The new law was passed by the 12th meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, on August 26, and it will take effect on September 1, 2020. The resource tax on light rare earths remains unchanged.

Wu Chenhui, a Beijing-based independent rare-earth analyst, told the Global Times on Thursday that the new policy aims to ease the tax burden of rare-earth enterprises and encourage them to invest in and research more advanced extraction techniques and market applications, to cement China's position as a leading supplier in the market.

"The new tax will also provide additional liquidity for these companies as they cope with the country's stronger environmental protection," Wu said.

Amid an escalation of the China-US trade war, industry insiders have hinted that China could cut rare-earth exports to inflict massive damage to various US industries and defense capabilities.

Rare-earth components are indispensable in the manufacturing of electronic devices such as laptops and smartphones. They are also of vital importance to US military equipment, such as radar, night vision goggles, missile guidance systems and tank armor.

China is the world's largest producer and exporter of rare earths. Its mines account for about 70 percent of global output.

The US from 2014 to 2017 sourced 80 percent of its rare-earth imports from China, according to US government statistics.

ASEAN War Games with US Meant to Promote Centrality of Bloc in the Region

By Ge Hongliang
Global Times
2019/9/4 19:53:40

Officers from US Navy and maritime forces from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states participate in the opening ceremony for the ASEAN-US Maritime Exercise at Sattahip Naval Base, Chonburi province, Thailand on Monday. Photo: IC

After holding two joint maritime exercises with China in October 2018 and April 2019, ASEAN members launched their first joint maritime war games with the US from Monday to Friday at a naval base in Chonburi province, east of Bangkok, Thailand.

Unlike the China-ASEAN joint maritime exercises, in which both sides emphasized jointly maintaining maritime security and combating non-conventional maritime security threats like the piracy problem, the US-ASEAN joint maritime exercise shows different expectations by the US and ASEAN.

US Indo-Pacific Strategy acts like the guiding light for Washington to promote US-ASEAN joint maritime exercise. Commander of US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Philip Davidson on March 7 reiterated the importance of "ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific" at the Fullerton Lecture hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. According to a statement by US embassy in Bangkok, the maritime exercise is to "maintain maritime security, focus on prevention and pre-empt wrongdoing in the sea." The joint exercise is mostly held off the coast of Vietnam's Ca Mau province, where the US Navy will deploy "suspicious boats" in a mock exercise that will help its ASEAN counterparts search, verify, and prosecute the boats.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attended a regional summit in August with the 10-country ASEAN in a bid to promote the Trump administration's Indo-Pacific Strategy. The joint maritime exercise is apparently organized as part of the US Indo-Pacific Strategy to promote military cooperation between the two sides. In the opinion of American and some Southeast Asian media outlets, the US-ASEAN joint maritime exercise is being held amid tensions between China and some bloc countries, especially Vietnam, due to sovereignty claims in the South China Sea. It is clearly aimed at containing China although it is not reported so. The "prevention and pre-empt wrongdoing" is in fact aimed at China's increasing safeguard of its legal rights in the South China Sea.

For ASEAN, the joint maritime exercise with the US is another move to avoid being involved in competition between China and the US and to achieve centrality, which means the bloc acts as a regional leader in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Asia-Pacific.

ASEAN should "seek to retain its centrality and strengthen its role as the driving force in regional cooperation," according to a statement issued by ASEAN Secretariat on January 1, 2007. The term "ASEAN centrality" is included in the ASEAN Charter as "the primary driving force in its relations and cooperation with its external partners in a regional architecture that is open, transparent and inclusive."

Such being the case, the multilateral defense diplomacy led by ASEAN will soon become a touchstone of new multilateral defense diplomacy in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Asia-Pacific.

In recent years, China has developed rapidly. Amid the regional competition, that between China and the US is becoming more prominent, ASEAN members are facing the increasing pressure of picking sides and major power competition. To deal with such a situation and avoid pressures, ASEAN took the opportunity of joint maritime exercises with China and the US to gradually build a new systemized platform. The bloc's eight main partners of dialogue, including China, the US and Japan, are also the main participants in the joint maritime exercise for ASEAN. Therefore, in this sense, holding joint maritime exercises with major powers such as China and the US is an active move by the bloc to promote and consolidate its centrality in the region.

The author is a research fellow with the Charhar Institute and the College of ASEAN Studies at Guangxi University for Nationalities. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

Trump Government Needs to Change Course and Stop the Trade War with China

By Li Hong
Global Times
2019/9/5 23:03:40

Following a ferocious rhetorical spat between Washington and Beijing over the past two months, the world's two major powers have agreed to hold high-level trade talks in the US in early October. The world has been watching aghast, concerned that the unprecedented-scale trade war will cause a global recession in 2020.

"Both sides agreed that they should work together and take practical actions to create good conditions for consultations," China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.

It won't be easy for the two powers to come to good terms and sign a deal if the US government refuses to give up its bullying tactics during the upcoming negotiations.

What is urgently needed for a successful round of talks is sincerity and faithfulness - willingness to make due compromises to reciprocate the opposite side's offering.

Playing tricks or gimmicks, or gambling through outlandish, noisy Twitter-storms will hardly lead to a breakthrough in talks, but will instead expose brashness and desperation.

More than a dozen rounds of talks in the past 16 months have shown that placing maximum pressure on China - by raising tariffs on incrementally bigger tranches of Chinese imports, or ensnarling ZTE, Huawei and other Chinese high-tech corporations into the trade tussle - will be met with unblinking tit-for-tat retaliations.

If the White House truly wants the coming negotiations, which will involve a series of video conferences and face-to-face talks, to achieve tangible or substantive progress, it needs to rethink its previous anti-China posture and shun China hawks and China cynics like the White House's trade advisor Peter Navarro. People like Navarro have steadfastly ill-advised the Trump administration to take an antagonistic path when it comes to China.

Obviously, economic confrontations with China won't do the US, or the current Trump government, any good. Any thought to decouple the US economy from China's will be fiercely opposed by American multinational companies, because any decoupling attempt from China's huge market will hurt the fundamentals of their country.

Increasingly, China's economy is fired by domestic consumption power, and the country's 500 million middle-class urbanites are supporting its organic economic growth.

The buying power of the Chinese is never to be neglected - this is best demonstrated by their penchant for quality German- and Japanese-made cars, and their patriotic consumption of Huawei smartphones in the wake of the Trump administration's vicious attack on the Chinese company.

Recent manufacturing activity statistics in China and the US point to diverging trends. Despite the massive tariffs imposed on Chinese goods by Washington, China's August Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 50.4, while the same index for the US, by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), tumbled to 49.1, indicating American manufacturers' rising jitters over a precipitous economic downturn. 

Additionally, there are growing signs of distress for American companies and consumers due to the escalations of the trade war, which Trump initiated and has continually intensified since mid-2018. It's known universally that high tariffs cripple shipments of normal trade, destroy supply chains upon which all manufacturers rely, and make people's lives harder as tariffs translate to higher commodity prices.

It is no wonder that investors have been spooked, as the risks of a US recession are now greatly elevated - some even claim that the downturn has likely already begun.

In the past three weeks, the yield of 10-year US Treasuries fell lower than that of 1-year Treasury notes numerous times. The inverted yield curve of bonds doesn't bode well for the US economy, as economists believe it will induce a recession. Meanwhile, American consumers' confidence is dropping fast. Although US unemployment remains low, it is deemed a "lagging" indicator and when the economy worsens, the unemployment rate will climb.

In summary, the trade war is a drag on the US and Washington will never win such a conflict with China. Time, now, is seemingly on China's side. The headwinds that have been battering the Chinese and the global economy are washing up on US shores and forcing the Trump administration to change its course.

The author is an editor with the Global Times. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn

How to Close Understanding Gap Between China, the US?

Global Times
2019/9/5 22:23:40

Editor's Note: Amid a raging trade war, where are China-US relations headed? Are Beijing and Washington enemies? Peter Walker (Walker), author of Powerful, Different, Equal and a senior partner emeritus at McKinsey & Company, shared his insights with Global Times (GT) reporter Yan Yunming.

GT: Does the US view China as an enemy?

Walker: According to a recent review by the US government, both China and Russia are considered strategic threats. People who understand China see the threat as largely economic. China is viewed in the US, fairly or unfairly, as having stolen intellectual property from the US over many years and as having behaved unfairly on trade. Large trade deficits between the two countries were in accordance with trade treaties agreed to by both sides, so categorizing trade actions consistent with the treaties as unfair is hard to understand.

China 2025 initiative calls for China to become a leader in 10 advanced technology areas. The US is currently the global leader in most of those areas so the 2025 initiative is seen as a direct challenge/threat to the US. So the answer to your question is yes, the US sees China as an economic enemy.

Predictably the military-industrial complex in the US sees China as a threat. This position helps justify further investments in the military even though China's defense budget is approximately one third of the US despite China having four times the US population. Furthermore China's track record is peaceful compared to the US over the past 200 years and especially over the last 20 years.

GT: You said the economy is the "true battlefield." Is the current trade war a "true battle" the US launched against China? Where do you think the trade war is headed?

Walker: The trade war launched by the US in the form of higher tariffs on a wide range of Chinese goods is a "true battle," but economists and business leaders have characterized it as poorly conceived and hurting both countries. Despite Trump's claim that "trade wars are easy to win" the economic burden of tariffs is born by the US consumers not by China as Trump asserted. The current estimate is the existing tariffs will increase costs to the consumers in the US by $600 annually per household and if planned tariffs are implemented, that number will increase to $1,000 per household. A core rationale put forward to justify the tariffs was the return of manufacturing jobs to the US. That has not happened to a meaningful extent because US firms importing from China turned to other low-cost countries, largely in Southeast Asia.

Beyond these short-term impacts the US action has led China to accelerate its efforts to both reduce its dependency on the US as a trading partner and to double down on their technological 2025 goals. If the goals of the trade war were to strengthen the US economy at the expense of the Chinese, the longer-term results will be the opposite. The Chinese understand that and are in no hurry to settle unless they can strike a deal in their best interest. Finally, if the US economy struggles, the 2020 elections will pressure Washington to back off on tariffs as they have already begun to. The US has always been a proponent of free trade and that position is likely to be reasserted with a change in the administration. 

GT: Many US politicians harbor a cold war mindset against China. Why is that?

Walker: The primary reasons are two-fold. First the US has enjoyed the strongest economy globally for the last 150 years and is going to lose that position to China over the coming decades. Politicians view that outcome as unacceptable and will do whatever they can to prevent it. Most global economists see China as ultimately prevailing and as it becomes more apparent, the position of US politicians is likely to harden.

The second core reason is that US politicians know little about Chinese history and culture and consider its model of a strong central government as unacceptable rather than a natural outgrowth of China's history and culture. China, on the other hand, understands the US very well and will continue to do what's in its best interest.

GT: You say in your book that "in the US there is a disturbing amount of mistrust toward China that is rooted in common misunderstandings about Chinese history, culture and government… on the flipside, China has a far greater understanding of the US." What has led to this skewed balance?

Walker: The skewed balance is largely explained by history and culture. China was the most populous and advanced country in the world for most of its history. It lost that position when it missed the industrial revolution that transformed the West and the US in particular in the 19th and early 20th century.

China was subjugated by the West during the 19th century and torn by internal strife and self-inflicted wounds under Mao Zedong with the Great Leap Forward  and the Cultural Revolution. When Deng Xiaoping took over in 1978 he launched the reform and opening-up initiative to accelerate China's development with a focus on manufacturing and technology. China learned rapidly from the West and became a global leader in manufacturing for export, leveraging both Western technology and a huge supply of low-cost labor. Other countries, including the US, have done the same throughout history.

Apart from China's economic initiatives it also encouraged its top students to be educated in the West in general and the US in particular. At any point in time over 350,000 Chinese students were attending universities in the US. Many of the senior officials in the Chinese government have been educated at the top universities in the US. American fashion, movies and music have fully penetrated the Chinese market. And English is taught in virtually all Chinese schools. In summary, over the past 40 years China's exposure to and understanding of the US has exploded.

Until very recently the US interest in China has been modest at best and limited to missionaries, academicians and global corporations looking to penetrate the huge Chinese market. The US government over the past three years has declared China, with Russia, a strategic threat and has been attempting to contain China's rise through trade wars and limiting access to America's advanced technologies. This awakening is very recent and largely focused on economic competition. Little has been done to understand China's history and culture and what underlies its actions.

The vast majority of Americans, including senior government officials, believed for many years that China would inevitably become a democracy. Any understanding of Chinese history and culture is rooted in collectivism not individualism, and Confucian values would suggest that China and the Chinese people on the mainland have little interest in electoral democracy at other than the local level. In fact, according to the Pew Foundation, the Chinese government has among the highest level of support from its people of any major country.

While the US now wants to contain China there is little evidence that it wants to understand China. A very small number of Americans - around a million - have visited China while over 25 million Chinese have visited the US. The number of Chinese who can speak English dwarfs the number of Americans who can speak Putonghua. "Face" - or personal reputation or honor - is a cornerstone of Chinese culture yet the US government on trade issues and Hong Kong acts as though face does not exist as it threatens China to accede to its wishes or accept the consequences. Even a modest understanding of Chinese culture would suggest that the Chinese will not respond to pressure.

In summary the US lack of understanding does not suggest America's lack of collective intelligence or well-meaning any more than China's lack of interest in the rest of the world for most of its history suggested the same. As the dominant global power for 150 years, the US simply saw no compelling need to understand China until very recently. Hopefully, the US posture will shift from containment and confrontation to constructive engagement in the next phase of the relationship.

GT: How would you advise America to overcome misunderstanding? As populism is rising, many in the US don't seem keen on understanding China. To what extent do you think your suggestions will work?

Walker: Not only do the vast majority of Americans know little about China but our government's lack of understanding and its willingness to position China as an "enemy" is unlikely to lead to more willingness for a deeper understanding. Given this dynamic, the road to understanding will be long. Having given many talks in the US on this subject to a wide variety of audiences, I believe the group most ready and willing to learn are the young and the educated. They understand the importance of China to the future of their world and are sufficiently intellectually curious to want to explore a number of core questions.

By any measure change on this dimension will come slowly. My hope is that my recently published book on the US and China - Powerful, Different, Equal - will make a dent. Over time facts will come to replace unsupported assertions. Finally the closing of the understanding gap would be accelerated by a new administration moving away from a world order seen as a zero sum game with winners and losers.

GT: How do you see China-US relations panning out in the short and long term?

Walker: In the short term the trade war, as economists have said from Day 1, will hurt both sides. The notion "trade wars are easy to win" is naïve at best. Of the two players China is better able to withstand the pain given its central control over all levers and the flexibility coming with it. China will also have increasing support from its people and a willingness to sacrifice given how the US has played its hand. How the US reacts short term is less clear. Economic slowdown and rising inflation induced by tariffs on Chinese imports could adversely affect Trump in the coming election.

In the longer term China will continue to reduce its dependency on the US. Given its rapidly growing consumer market and further urbanization opportunities the Chinese economy will continue to do well. Given China's ability to graduate 16 scientists/mathematicians/engineers for every one graduating in the US, China's economic future is secure. The US will continue to be tested by its lack of investment in education and infrastructure, cutbacks in immigration and the drain of its growing military budget. Further challenges are the highly divided country and the dysfunctional partisan government. The enduring strength of the US will be its economy and corporations but the headwinds are increasing. 

China-US Trade Talks Worth the Wait

Global Times
2019/9/5 22:08:41

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He had a phone call, by invitation, with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Thursday. According to the Chinese side, the two countries agreed to hold the 13th round of China-US high-level trade consultations in Washington in early October and would maintain close communication before that. Working groups of the two sides will conduct consultations in mid-September to make full preparations for the high-level talks to achieve substantial progress. Both sides agreed to "jointly take concrete actions to create favorable conditions for further consultations in October," reported Xinhua News Agency on Thursday.

After top leaders from China and the US reached a consensus in Japan in June, the two countries held the 12th round of trade talks in Shanghai in July. Then the US suddenly announced new tariffs on Chinese goods, which led to China's countermeasures and the escalation of the US-launched trade war against China. The tense China-US trade relationship has agitated the global market, and turmoil is emerging in the US stock market. As Liu said on Tuesday, the trade war "is not conducive to China, the US, or the world."

A stress on making "full preparations" and achieving "substantial progress" before the trade consultations is extremely rare.

Obviously, China and the US are willing to reach a trade agreement. But the gap between their stances remains wide. The US believes that its advantage in strength is enough to support its demands, even unreasonable ones. However, China insists on mutual respect, and believes the process must be fair, and the results should be mutually beneficial.

China said the trade war, which has lasted for over a year, has hurt both sides, but the US does not want to admit it is also wounded by the trade war. However, the US cannot provide a satisfactory explanation of why high tariffs benefit the US economy. Thus, the two sides face the choice of whether to continue the lose-lose situation or to reach a compromise.

A stalemate is emerging in the China-US trade war. Washington has more economic advantages, while Beijing has more political advantages. If both sides refuse to make concessions, the trade war is likely to continue for a long time and create lasting strategic harm to both countries. China's attitude toward reaching a deal has been consistent, and it is believed that China's endurance has impressed the US. Both sides have a greater understanding of each other's attitude and bottom line.

But this does not mean the two countries will achieve substantial progress in the 13th round of talks. Many other factors will affect their negotiations, such as specific US economic data and pressing US political issues.

The Chinese group will negotiate in a serious and proactive manner and adhere to the country's principles and bottom line. The Chinese people should remain calm. The Chinese economy's ability to adapt to the trade war is taking shape at an accelerating pace. We Chinese are aware that we should do our own thing well. The more we activate our economy and expand our market, the earlier the China-US trade agreement will be reached.

Air Tanzania Suspends Flights to Johannesburg Due to Ongoing Violence - Transport Minister

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania’s national carrier suspended its flights from the commercial capital Dar es Salaam to Johannesburg on Thursday, citing ongoing violence that was a risk to its passengers.

“You are aware that there is ongoing violence in South Africa whereby the youth have taken laws in their hands,” Tanzania’s Transport Minister Isack Kamwelwe told journalists in Dar es Salaam. “Due to that, we have decided not to transport passengers to the destination where their lives will be in jeopardy.”

At least seven people have been killed and hundreds of arrests have been made during a week of anti-immigrant violence in South Africa.

Reporting by Nuzulack Dausen; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Alison Williams

HAJI MOHAMED DAWJEE: FEMICIDE AND THE INVISIBLE MAN

Haji Mohamed Dawjee
OPINION
Eyewitness News

Uyinene Mrwetyana (Nene) went missing on the 24th of August, except, she didn’t. Her hidden body was found in Khayelitsha almost a week later, dead and bludgeoned to death.

Nene was a student. She visited the post office, a regular errand on any given day, to enquire about a parcel. She was asked to return at a later stage because there was no electricity. She returned as told and found herself alone with the same man, who locked the door behind her, assaulted her, raped her and then hit her with a scale until she died because she screamed for help.

If she remained quiet, would she have lived? Does it even matter? Is this where we are? Where a woman’s choice is to submit instead of fight back - to live with rape an abuse, instead of die with rape and abuse? It is sad. It is horrifying. And it is not a solution. But what is?

Nene’s death prompted one of many outcries on social media. It was the flame that ignited the #AMINEXT movement. Twitter feeds are bleeding with the stories of other women who have been subjects of abuse, rape and femicide. Many of them are naming and shaming the men, who undoubtedly are perpetuators of rape culture whether they knowingly or unknowingly participate. UCT students held a vigil, to mourn and protest the death of their fellow student and friend. And country-wide protests have started to take place.

Of course, the South African government has also chimed in – first with a weak washed-out tweet that merely read: We would like to extend our deepest condolences on the death of UCT Student #Uyinene Mrwetyana. May her soul rest in peace. Government condemns any form of violence against women and children. #RIPUyinene.

The generic nature of this tweet was followed by another enraging one: "Violence and abuse against women have no place in our society. Govt is calling on women to speak out, and not allow themselves to become victims by keeping quiet. Women who speak out are able to act, effect change and help others," the tweet read.

“Violence and abuse against women have no place in our society. Govt is calling on women to speak out, and not allow themselves to become victims by keeping quiet. Women who speak out are able to act, effect change and help others”.

Here’s the problem with this response. There is no mention of men. The onus of being careful, of being “armed” and aware and ready to defend lies in the hands of women. Women should speak out. Women should affect change. Women should help others. Women should not allow themselves to become victims.

But these are all moot points. Because it is women who do all of the above. It is women who fight back, speak out, endure and protest. Where are the men. Why are they not being confronted by the state and why, in fact, are men not confronting other men?

As long as authorities maintain this narrative, men are allowed to remain in the background of a problem that is theirs and not ours. If this is the messaging that keeps making the rounds by institutions who can actually affect change, femicide will continue to be seen as isolated incidents instead of patterns of behaviour carried out by men – and society as a whole, intersectionally, will fail to see the connections that highlight the bigger issue. A very real issue that isn’t just a statistic. To deny these instances and fail to humanise them, all the government essentially does is evade tackling it.

Acknowledging the scale and significance of male violence instead of the “victimhood” of women is the first step to prevention. How many men are responsible? Where is that data base? These are critical exponents of information. A google search will reveal the statistic of rape and femicide in South Africa, but hardly ever the statistic of the men responsible. Who are they? How do we count them? Why does a public database not name them, and why is that database not constantly updated?

To say that “violence and abuse against women have no place in our country” is a given. There is no place for that in any country. But to say that is not leadership and it is not enough. It minimises the impact of men. To say that “violent men who abuse and rape and pillage and kill women – they have no place in our country” – that is the critical and absent statement. That is identifying the problem, that is how we deal with prevention and that is how government can take constructive steps towards understanding it.

Tweeted pictures supported by RIP hashtags are not stand-alone “trends” that occur in isolation. They are not the only instances in which our government should respond on ineffective mediums. They are linked, all of them, to men. There is no record that publishes the data on these men, the relationship they have to these women, they do not elaborate on the circumstances of the crime carried out by the offender and the different forms of violence they incite against women. And if they did, would they ever be updated? They should. And they should allow this kind of freedom of information because instead of placing the burden of responsibility on women, reverse it, and place it on government and men themselves.

As often as we see layer upon layer of our women’s pictures being shared widely in media, we should see these men. #AMINEXT needs to be replace by #HEISNEXT, because it is in fact “he” who is always protected, not held accountable, and not counted and he must be.

Haji Mohamed Dawjee is a South African columnist, disruptor of the peace and the author of 'Sorry, Not Sorry: Experiences of a brown woman in a white South Africa'. Follow her on Twitter.

PROBE ORDERED INTO HOW UYINENE MRWETYANA’S KILLER ALLOWED TO WORK AT POST OFFICE

The accused was arrested recently and has confessed to raping and killing Uyinene Mrwetyana.

Uyinene Mrwetyana. Picture: facebook.com

Lizell Persens & Regan Thaw
Eyewitness News

CAPE TOWN - The Communication’s Minister is demanding answers as to how a man arrested for the murder of a 19-year-old woman was allowed to work for the Post Office.

Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has ordered an investigation.

“We’re investigating his convictions and why he was employed on the frontline.”

The accused was arrested recently and has confessed to raping and killing Uyinene Mrwetyana.

She was attacked inside a Claremont Post Office late last month.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has confirmed that he does have a previous criminal record.

Meanwhile, a woman has described to CapeTalk her interaction with the man accused of Mrwetyana’s murder.

Alice Cropper was assisted by the man recently.

After learning of Mrwetyana’s sexual assault and murder, Cropper spoke of her interaction with the accused.

Cropper claimed that when she went to police to report her experience, officers were not helpful at first.

"I also think there are more people who have dealt with this guy. He apparently also handed a 15-year-old a letter and told her to go back but she did not. There are many of these stories."

SHUT DOWN THE COUNTRY! PROTESTERS TRY TO STORM WEF AFRICA EVENT

A growing group of demonstrators charged towards the doors of the Cape Town International Convention Centre, where the World Economic Forum on Africa is under way.

Anti-gender violence protesters at the CTICC in Cape Town where the WEF Africa event is being held on 4 September 2019. Picture: Christa Eybers/EWN

Kevin Brandt
Eyewitness News

CAPE TOWN - A growing group of demonstrators charged towards the doors of the Cape Town International Convention Centre, where the World Economic Forum is under way.

Earlier a smaller group had held a silent protest against gender-based violence, calling for a state of emergency to be declared in South Africa.

Escalating violence against women and children prompted South Africans from all walks of life to take a stance and call for more decisive action from the government.

With chants of "we want a state of emergency," "how many more" and "shut down the country", demonstrators protested outside the CTICC, criticising government's sluggish attempts to end violence against women.

Presidential special advisor on gender-based violence, Dr Olive Shisana, stepped out to address the furious and emotional crowd. She said government would prepare a strategic plan to address gender-based violence.

"Our team is still going around the country where we are consulting women on the strategy to fight gender-based violence. We cannot develop it within the Presidency without involving women all around the country."

Protesters, however, did not entertain her and moved on to Parliament.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to lead a top-level delegation to the economic forum to pitch South Africa as an investment destination.

11 CT GENDER VIOLENCE PROTESTERS RELEASED ON WARNING

The suspects have been released on a warning until their court appearance.

Protesters against gender-based violence clash with police at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on 4 September 2019.  Picture: EWN

Eyewitness News

CAPE TOWN - Eleven people were arrested during protests against the killing of women and children outside the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).

It’s the venue for the World Economic Forum on Africa.

The protest was met with stun grenades and a water cannon.

The suspects have been released on a warning until their court appearance.

RAMAPHOSA TO ADDRESS SA ON HARSHER PENALTIES FOR GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

President Cyril Ramaphosa was heckled when addressing protesters against gender-based violence outside Parliament.

President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses protesters against gender-based violence outside of Parliament on 5 September 2019. He was accompanied by Minister of Human Settlements Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu and other officials. Picture: Kaylynn Palm/EWN

Eyewitness News

CAPE TOWN - President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation later on Thursday on a plan to address gender-based violence.

He made the announcement outside Parliament in Cape Town on Thursday. The president was heckled when he met with protesters.

"Enough is enough, and we will act on that," Ramaphosa said.

"We must declare a state of emergency - I will be addressing that issue as well," he added.

"The issues that we have set out here, such as [ensuring] that there are harsher penalties, is precisely what we can address," the president said.

Hundreds of people gathered at the gates of Parliament to vent their anger of gender violence. It's a cross-section of society, women and men of all races and cultures gathered and were dressed in black.

Some held up posters which read, "Stop Killing Our Daughters, Mothers and Nieces".

Others can be seen brandishing placards with the text "Am I Next" written in black.

One UCT student Sarah Schardla is selling cookies at the gathering. The money will go to slain Uyinene Mrwetyana’s family.

Ramaphosa will also visit Mrwetyana's family in the Eastern Cape, saying "we need emergency measures in place to protect women".

Mrwetyana was raped and murdered after going to the post office for a parcel. The alleged perpetrator was arrested on Tuesday.

"The killing of women must be brought to an end. We want the men our country to take responsibility for the slaughtering of women ... stop raping the women of our country and killing them."

"As a government, we will heighten the safety and protection of the women of our nation."

Throughout the week, the World Economic Forum taking place in Cape Town had protesters outside, demanding justice for women who have been raped and murdered.

"We will address harsher penalties so that the men who rape women, and kill women, must stay in jail for life," Ramaphosa said.

"Men who rape women, men who kill women, do not belong in society. They belong behind bars ... once you rape and kill a woman, you will get life."

He also said there must be no bail for those accused of "violence against women and children".

Ramaphosa also touched on specialised courts for such cases.

"It is important that we continue as a nation to show our solidarity to show our care and compassion," Ramaphosa said.

"Last year, arising from a number of calls we held a GBV summit and those outcomes are currently in process of being implemented," he said.

NIGERIA TO TAKE ‘TOUGHER’ STANCE AGAINST SA FOLLOWING XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS

The Nigerian government said it had drawn what it called ‘a red line’ with South Africa over the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in the country.

FILE: President Cyril Ramaphosa and President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria. Picture: GCIS.

Samson Omale
Eyewitness News

ABUJA - The Nigerian government has indicated that it will take a tougher stance against South Africa if the current attacks on its citizens continued.

Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama gave this indication ahead of Thursday’s meeting by President's Muhammadu Buhari's special envoy and President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The Nigerian government said it had drawn what it called ‘a red line’ with South Africa over the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in the country.

Onyeama spoke to journalists after meeting with the president.

Buhari in Abuja also confirmed that Nigeria would recall her ambassador to South Africa over the matter for a briefing.

“What is happening in South Africa is totally unacceptable. We will not accept it. Enough is enough, we’re going to have to address it once and for all," he said.

Tensions between both countries have risen since news of the latest rounds of xenophobic attacks on Nigeria business interests in South Africa spread on social media.

MAJORITY OF South AFRICANS APPALLED AT XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS – MBOWENI TELLS WEF

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni told delegates South Africa was going through a difficult time but that the authorities were dealing with the matter.

FILE: Finance Minister Tito Mboweni address the media ahead of their discussion on the African economy at Tshimologong Precinct in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. Picture: GCIS.

Gaye Davis
Eyewitness News

CAPE TOWN - Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has told the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town that the majority of South Africans are appalled at the violence being meted out against African migrants and refugees in the country.

Mboweni told delegates South Africa was going through a difficult time but that the authorities were dealing with the matter.

The minister was speaking during the opening plenary session of the world event on Thursday and made the remarks after delivering a speech on behalf of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa could not attend, as he was addressing protesters at Parliament.

After delivering the president’s speech, Mboweni told the audience: “We welcome all Africans who have come to this conference, we welcome all Africans who live in South Africa. We are all Africans, God Bless this nation.”

The violence of recent days affecting foreign migrants has cast a shadow over the forum, one that Mboweni went on to address during question time.

“If a South African wants to live in Abuja they should be free to do so, if a Nigerian wants to live in Johannesburg they should be free to do so – these artificial barriers and this hatred we’ve created among ourselves must really be a thing of the past.”

Mboweni told the session it was more a political issue than a policing issue.

“We have to go to our people and discuss politically that what some of them are doing is wrong. The majority of South Africans are against what’s happening. The majority of South Africans are appalled.”

RAMAPHOSA CRITICISED AT WEF AFRICA FOR NOT CAPITALISING ON POLL VICTORY

Government representatives failed to show up for a World Economic Forum on Africa briefing as the event got under way amid clashes between police and protesters on Wednesday.

President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the World Economic Forum Africa event at the CTICC in Cape Town on 4 September 2019. Picture: @PresidencyZA/Twitter

Gaye Davis
Eyewitness News

CAPE TOWN - Government representatives failed to show up for a World Economic Forum on Africa briefing as the event got under way amid clashes between police and protesters on Wednesday.

Demonstrators gathered outside Cape Town’s International Convention Centre to protest the murders of women and children.

The briefing focused on the first 100 days Of President Cyril Ramaphosa's new administration, but government representatives were conspicuous by their absence.

The World Economic Forum’s communications head, Oliver Cann, said while the government had been invited, representatives had to cancel due to scheduling issues.

That left Anne Bernstein, executive director of the independent think-tank, the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE), as the only participant.

Bernstein was critical of Ramaphosa for failing to capitalise on voters’ support in the May elections while acknowledging the progress made on recapturing the state “from looters” and rebuilding institutions such as the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and state-owned companies.

“The president should have capitalised on what was in many respects a personal election victory for himself. The ANC ran a campaign with him on all the posters and acknowledging that the ANC itself had to change, and the country had to change, I don’t think he seized that moment.”

Zimbabwe Government Condemns Violent South Africa Attacks

05 SEP, 2019 - 00:09
Crime Reporter

Government has condemned flaring attacks on citizens from other African countries in South Africa  which have so far left five people dead, shops looted and property burnt down.

Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Nigeria — whose nationals reside and travel to the neighbouring country — have also issued travel warnings to their citizens.

Since Monday, shops owned by nationals from across Africa were looted while haulage trucks driven by foreigners were also targeted.

Police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades in an attempt to stop the looting. At least 189 people have been arrested.

In a statement yesterday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa urged Zimbabweans living in South Africa and those travelling to that country to take the necessary precautions to ensure their safety.

“We extent our heartfelt sympathies to all Zimbabweans and other African nationals who suffered from the senseless orgy of violence in South Africa.

“The Government and the people of Zimbabwe condemn the barbaric acts, which clearly offends the spirit of African unity and solidarity as espoused by the African Union founding fathers in Addis Ababa in 1963,” she said.

Minister Mutsvangwa said the despicable attacks come at an opportune time when African leaders had just launched the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.

“The despicable attacks comes at an opportune time when African leaders have just launched a continent-wide Africa Free Trade Area, which has opened exciting economic opportunities that facilitate free movement of capital, labour, goods and services.

“We applaud the South African Government for their swift intervention to end the violence and bring the perpetrators to book. All Zimbabweans living in South Africa and those travelling to the country are urged to take the necessary precaution to ensure their safety,” she said.

Nigeria also summoned the South African ambassador to express “displeasure over the treatment of her citizens” and said it would dispatch a special envoy.

Zambia also cancelled an international friendly football match which was slated for Lusaka on Saturday against South Africa’s national men’s team Bafana Bafana.

Nigerian singers have also boycotted shows in South Africa.

Telecoms operator MTN yesterday shut all stores and service centres in Nigeria until further notice after its facilities in three cities were attacked.

The facilities were attacked in retaliation by the Nigerians.

Nigeria is MTN’s biggest market, with 58 million users in 2018 and accounts for a third of the South African group’s core profit.

President in Touch with Ramaphosa Over Xenophobia

05 SEP, 2019 - 00:09 
Zimbabwe Herald

President Mnangagwa shakes hands with World Economic Forum chairman Mr Klaus Schwab at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in South Africa yesterday

Africa Moyo
Deputy News Editor

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has slammed senseless xenophobic attacks taking place in South Africa since last weekend and said he was working closely with President Cyril Ramaphosa on the issue.

This comes amid widespread violence and looting targeted at mainly businesses owned by African immigrants.

Five people have been confirmed dead in the violence and many others injured.

President Mnangagwa, who is in Cape Town, South Africa, for the World Economic Forum (WEF) for Africa 2019, yesterday said all forms of “hate-driven” violence should be condemned in the strongest terms possible.

“We strongly condemn all forms of hate-driven violence and applaud the South African authorities for the swift way they have responded.

“We are closely following the situation and are in regular contact with our South African counterparts and HE (His Excellency) Cde @CyrilRamaphosa,” said President Mnangagwa on his Twitter handle.

President Mnangagwa, who also chairs the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, told Zimbabweans living in South Africa on Tuesday that he was hopeful that authorities in Pretoria would find ways of ending the xenophobic violence.

“I have no doubt that the authorities here will not fold hands, they must bring sanity and to do so they must apply a bit of force,” he said.

On Tuesday, President Ramaphosa condemned the xenophobic attacks, adding that he was convening ministers from the security cluster to ensure they dealt with the worrying issue.

“I condemn the violence that has been spreading around a number of our provinces in the strongest terms.

“I’m convening the ministers in the security cluster today to make sure that we keep a close eye on these acts of wanton violence and find ways of stopping them,” he said.

Despite an increase in police presence in Johannesburg and Pretoria where attacks on businesses run Africans have been taking place since Sunday night, more tacks were recorded on Tuesday night.

Confirmed: Three South Africans Killed During Xenophobic Attacks

The spate of violence and looting in Gauteng this weekend has seen three South African citizens lose their lives to these mindless xenophobic attacks.

by Tom Head
The South African
2019-09-04 09:54i

Police Minister Bheki Cele – whose task to restore law and order in Mzansi growns more unenviable by the day – has revealed that three of the five people killed during the xenophobic attacks from this weekend were South African nationals.

Shops were looted and foreigners were attacked by hoardes of infuriated locals in Gauteng, who were systematically targeting non-native business owners and immigrants. Tensions regarding criminal activity from foreigners had reached boiling point, spilling over in heinous fashion on Sunday.

The protests turned violent and racked up a significant human cost. The visceral anger – directed at anyone who could be identified as an immigrant – even gripped the Johannesburg CBD. But due to the unmitigated outpouring of rage, “three of our own” have ultimately paid the price for rampant xenophobia.

Minister Cele confirmed that a majority of the deceased were from SA on Wednesday morning.

The devastating news now poses further challenges: In a week which has seen retribution swing between both parties, information regarding these deaths is sure to light an inferno underneath an already flammable situation. Some messages doing the rounds on WhatsApp have claimed that ‘more demonstrations’ will take place in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

This comes just hours after scores of Nigerian citizens trashed local Shoprite stores in Lagos State, in an act of revenge again the zenophobia on display in Gauteng over the past seven days. The violence has even spooked an international audience, with Zambia’s football team refusing to travel to South Africa and play Bafana Bafana in a friendly this weekend.

Bheki Cele reveals “hundreds” arrested for weekend violence

Cele did present a slight silver lining on the matter. Earlier on Wednesday, the top cop confirmed that “almost 300 arrests” had been made in Gauteng Province since the weekend’s bloodshed. However, he went on to rule out the possibility of deploying the army to Johannesburg’s crime hot-spots – a tactic we’ve seen used in the Cape Flats this year.

Ramaphosa Says South Africa Must Stop Attacks on Foreigners, Nearly 300 Arrested

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa attends the opening day of the International Labour Organization's annual labour conference in Geneva, Switzerland June 10, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

Alexander Winning, Wendell Roelf

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told officials and business leaders on Wednesday that he was committed to quelling attacks on foreigners that have threatened to cast a cloud over an economic forum aimed at boosting intra-African trade.

Police have arrested almost 300 people and confirmed at least five deaths after riots in Johannesburg and the capital Pretoria in recent days, when roving groups attacked shops mainly owned by migrants from the rest of Africa.

It is unclear what ignited the latest round of violence, but analysts say contributing factors include high unemployment and frustration with limited economic opportunities.

The unrest has kindled memories of previous deadly attacks on foreigners and strained diplomatic relations with Africa’s other economic powerhouse Nigeria.

South African businesses MTN and Shoprite closed stores in Nigeria on Wednesday after their facilities in the country came under attack.

Other African countries from Ghana to Ethiopia and regional bloc the African Union have called on Ramaphosa to take action. Artists and citizens from across the continent voiced their anger on social media, with some threatening retaliation.

Police spokesman for Gauteng province, Colonel Lungelo Dlamini, said they were “experiencing a dramatic decline in public violence and looting” as the number people arrested on suspicion of involvement in the attacks on foreigners had increased to 289 since Sunday.

“Taking action against people from other nations is not justified and should never be allowed in our beautiful country ... We need to quell those incidents of unrest,” Ramaphosa told an event on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Africa three-day summit starting on Wednesday.

“South Africa must be a country where everyone feels safe, including women and foreign nationals,” Ramaphosa said, also condemning incidents where women had been killed.

Hundreds of mainly female students protesting about violence against women tried to storm the conference centre in Cape Town where the WEF conference was being held, but they were restrained by police who later used stun grenades against demonstrators.

“Women get raped in this country every single day and nothing is happening. The president is sitting there inside having a fancy lunch with all these people trying to sell our country to the world, (while) there is no peace and no justice,” said a student protester from the University of Cape Town, who declined to be identified.

REGIONAL INTEGRATION

Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Malawi’s Peter Mutharika pulled out of the conference at the last minute, prompting speculation in South African media that the no-shows were linked to the attacks on foreigners.

South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation said the leaders who had confirmed attendance were all taking part, adding attendance was “satisfactory”.

WEF spokesman Oliver Cann said Kagame and Mutharika had informed conference organisers that they could not attend by Saturday, before the attacks had started.

Zimbabwe’s foreign minister, part of a large Zimbabwean government contingent including President Emmerson Mnangagwa, said the attacks were “unfortunate”.

“It is unfortunate that African brothers go against each other neck on neck in that kind of scenario, in an environment where we are looking forward to regional integration and co-operation and where Africa as a whole has embraced the continental free trade agreement as a bedrock of integration,” Sibusiso Moyo told Reuters.

There are a significant number of Zimbabweans living in South Africa and they have formerly borne the brunt of attacks on foreigners, along with Somalians and Nigerians.

Immigration to South Africa from across Africa and from parts of southeast Asia picked up in the early 1990s, spurred by the end of apartheid rule and the economic boom that followed.

But in recent years, attacks against foreign-owned businesses have become a regular occurrence as frustration mounts over high rates of unemployment, currently around 29%, the highest level in a decade.

Some 60 people were killed in a wave of attacks around the country directed against foreigners in 2008. Another outbreak of violence killed at least seven people in 2015.

Hundreds of University of Zambia students dressed mostly in black and chanting “No Violence” protested outside the South African High Commission against the attacks on foreigners on Wednesday. Zambia criticised them for burning a billboard.

On Tuesday, the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) called off the country’s friendly soccer international against South Africa in Lusaka on Saturday, citing “prevailing security concerns in South Africa”. [nL5N25U5VR]

Reporting by Alexander Winning and Wendell Roelf in Cape Town; Additional reporting by Nqobile Dludla and Onke Ngcuka in Johannesburg and other Reuters reporters in Africa; Editing by Alison Williams