Chinese government orders all North Korean firms to close in China

Chinese government orders all North Korean firms to close in China

The Chinese government has ordered all North Korean companies based in the country to close as a result of UN sanctions over Pyongyang’s latest nuclear missile tests. China’s commerce ministry said on Thursday that North Korean firms or joint ventures in China will be shut within 120 days of the UN decision, which was announced […]

The walls are closing in: China finds new ways to tighten Internet controls

The walls are closing in: China finds new ways to tighten Internet controls

Thirty years ago, China sent its first-ever email. “Across the Great Wall, we can reach every corner of the world,” the Mail Administration of China wrote to researchers at Germany’s University of Karlsruhe at 9:07 p.m. Beijing time on Sept. 14, 1987. But instead of bridging the wall, China has since built a new one, in cyberspace — the […]

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs identifies China as most likely threat to US by 2025, reaffirms support for trans service members

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs identifies China as most likely threat to US by 2025, reaffirms support for trans service members

Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff General Joseph Dunford identified China as America’s most likely threat by 2025. He also reaffirmed his support for the military’s transgender service members, saying he has supported their ability to serve, saying “I believe that any individual who meets […]

Mattis builds defense partnership with another of China’s opponents: India

Mattis builds defense partnership with another of China’s opponents: India

American Secretary of Defense James Mattis met with India’s Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday, wherein both nations emphasized the importance of building a stronger military partnership in the years ahead. “This is a historic opportunity for our two democracies, a time of strategic convergence,” Mattis said. “As India takes its rightful place at the […]

U.S. bombers fly further north than ever as N.K. bolsters aerial defenses

U.S. bombers fly further north than ever as N.K. bolsters aerial defenses

For the first time since tensions began to rise between the United States and North Korea, Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers from Guam and Air Force F-15C Eagle fighter escorts from Okinawa, Japan flew alongside the Korean peninsula north of the demilitarized zone over the weekend.  Although the aircraft remained in international airspace, this marks […]

CEO catches stranger after hours, prompting espionage charges

CEO catches stranger after hours, prompting espionage charges

Samuel Straface thought he was the last one out the door one recent evening at the medical-technology startup he leads in suburban Boston. But as he passed a glass-walled conference room on the second floor, Dr. Straface says he saw a man he didn’t recognize, sitting by himself in front of two open laptops and […]

How North Korea evades UN sanctions

How North Korea evades UN sanctions

The United Nations recently passed its strongest sanctions yet against North Korea following its sixth nuclear test. But critics have expressed doubts as to whether the sanctions would stop Pyongyang from developing nuclear weapons and if the measures would be effectively enforced. The US government and a UN experts panel have published reports on how […]

The rare, potent fuel powering North Korea’s weapons

The rare, potent fuel powering North Korea’s weapons

When North Korea launched long-range missiles this summer, and again on Friday, demonstrating its ability to strike Guam and perhaps the United States mainland, it powered the weapons with a rare, potent rocket fuel that American intelligence agencies believe initially came from China and Russia. The United States government is scrambling to determine whether those two […]

China used to harvest organs from prisoners. Under pressure, that practice is finally ending.

China used to harvest organs from prisoners. Under pressure, that practice is finally ending.

China’s organ-transplant system was once a cause of international scorn and outrage, as doctors harvested organs from prisoners condemned to death by criminal courts and transplanted them into patients who often paid dearly for the privilege. After years of denials, China now acknowledges that history and has declared that the practice no longer occurs — […]

Taiwan jails mainland Chinese student on national security charge

A Taiwan district court on Friday sentenced a mainland Chinese student to 14 months imprisonment for breaching national security laws. The sentencing of Zhou Hongxu follows months of strained relations over the detention of a Taiwanese national in China. On Monday, a Taiwanese activist, Li Ming-che, confessed in a Chinese court to attempting to subvert […]

UN Security Council unanimously approves strictest sanctions yet on North Korea

UN Security Council unanimously approves strictest sanctions yet on North Korea

The United Nations Security Council came to a unanimous agreement on new sanctions to be imposed on North Korea on Monday.  These new sanctions come as a direct result of North Korea’s largest nuclear test to date, executed on September 3rd, that appeared to indicate that Kim Jong un’s regime now has the ability to produce […]