International
Biden monitoring China Covid unrest as US rallies pop up
| By AFP | Sebastian Smith and Beiyi Seow |
US President Joe Biden is monitoring unrest in China by protesters demanding an end to Covid lockdowns and greater political freedoms, the White House said Monday, as rallies popped up in solidarity around the United States.
The comments came after hundreds of people took to the streets in China’s major cities over the weekend, in a rare outpouring of public frustration that has spread to international Chinese-speaking communities.
“He’s monitoring this. We all are,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday.
Kirby would not describe Biden’s reaction to the demonstrators’ demands, saying: “The president’s not going to speak for protesters around the world. They’re speaking for themselves.”
But he stressed US support for the demonstrators’ rights.
“People should be allowed the right to assemble and to peacefully protest policies or laws or dictates that they take issue with,” Kirby said.
Earlier Monday, the US State Department implied that China’s strict lockdown policies were excessive, with a spokesperson saying “it’s going to be very difficult” for China to “contain this virus through their zero-Covid strategy.”
Discontent has been brewing for months in China over harsh coronavirus control measures, with relentless testing, localized lockdowns and travel restrictions pushing many to the brink.
That frustration was brought to a head after a deadly fire broke out last week in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang region, with many blaming Covid-19 lockdowns for hampering rescue efforts.
Around the United States, notably on university campuses, rallies sprang up Monday in support of the protests in China.
‘Solidarity’
Around 100 people, many of them students, gathered in Washington to call for greater freedoms and mourn those who died in Urumqi.
“(Officials) are borrowing the pretext of Covid, but using excessively strict lockdowns to control China’s population. They disregarded human lives,” said a Chinese student surnamed Chen.
“I came here to grieve,” the 21-year-old added.
Referring to protests across China, another student Zhou, 22, said: “My friends and I never imagined things would develop so rapidly.”
Attendees held white sheets of paper symbolizing censorship and chanted slogans including “Freedom of speech! Freedom of assembly! Tear down the firewall!”
In the evening, similar rallies were held in New York, on the campus of Columbia University, as well as at North Carolina’s Duke University.
Like at the protests in China, some in the crowds called for the resignation of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who recently secured a historic third term while consolidating power over the country’s billion-plus population.
Dozens of people gathered at the University of California’s Berkeley campus chanted in Mandarin “Xi Jinping, step down!”
There were also shouts in English of “Free China!,” while one protester was seen carrying a drawing of Xi with the slogan “Death to the dictator.”
Earlier on Monday in Washington, around 25 members of the Uyghur community gathered outside the State Department, and called on the United States and other democracies to apply further pressure on Beijing.
“We want them to issue a formal statement condemning the loss of lives, Uyghur lives, and to call for full transparency on the real number of deaths that occurred,” said Salih Hudayar, a Uyghur-American who campaigns for Xinjiang independence.
“We’re hoping that the international community supports these protesters in demanding accountability from the Chinese government,” he added of protests in China.
International
U.S. warns China over Taiwan during high-level defense talks in Kuala Lumpur
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth expressed concerns over China’s growing military activity near Taiwan during a meeting on Friday with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun in Kuala Lumpur.
“It was a constructive and positive meeting,” Hegseth wrote on X. “I emphasized the importance of maintaining a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific and raised U.S. concerns about China’s actions around Taiwan,” the self-governed island that Beijing claims and does not rule out invading.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus, one day after U.S. President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea. According to Trump, Taiwan was not discussed during their talks.
“The United States does not seek conflict and will continue to firmly defend its interests, ensuring it maintains the capability to do so in the region,” Hegseth added in his message.
Friday’s encounter followed a September 9 video call between Hegseth and Dong. Their previously planned meeting at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore was canceled due to Dong’s absence from the event.
Trump’s sit-down with Xi — their first since 2019 — resulted in some trade agreements but avoided addressing the issue of Taiwan, a long-standing source of tension between the world’s two largest powers.
Trump has taken a more ambiguous stance on Taiwan’s future compared with former President Joe Biden, who repeatedly stated that Washington would support Taipei if China launched an invasion. The Republican president has also criticized Taiwan for “stealing” the U.S. semiconductor industry.
International
U.S. considering airstrikes on military sites in Venezuela, reports say
The United States may soon carry out airstrikes on military facilities inside Venezuela as part of an escalating offensive against Nicolás Maduro’s regime, according to reports Friday from the Miami Herald and The Wall Street Journal, citing sources close to the Trump administration.
Airstrikes could take place “within days or even hours,” the Herald reported. The Journal noted that while the option is under serious consideration, President Donald Trump has not yet made a final decision on authorizing strikes on Venezuelan soil.
Potential targets allegedly include military-controlled ports and airports used in drug trafficking operations, such as naval installations and airstrips, officials told the Journal.
The Herald also quoted a source saying that “Maduro’s time is running out”, suggesting that more than one Venezuelan general may be ready to detain and hand him over. However, officials declined to confirm whether the Venezuelan leader would be among the military targets.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to block the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, following nearly two months of airstrikes against vessels in the Pacific and the Caribbean. Those operations have destroyed 15 boats and left 61 people dead and three survivors since September 1.
“We are finally waging a war against the cartels — a war like they’ve never seen before — and we are going to win that battle. We are already winning at sea,” Trump told U.S. troops during a speech in Japan.
The reports on possible airstrikes come on the same day the United Nations accused the U.S. of violating international law with its maritime operations, saying those killed at sea may have been victims of extrajudicial executions.
International
Pope Leo XIV revives Global Compact on Education to confront cultural crisis
Pope Leo XIV announced on Friday that he will revive and update the Global Compact on Education, an initiative launched by the late Pope Francis aimed at deeply transforming global culture through education.
The announcement was made during an audience in St. Peter’s Square, held on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Educational World, which this week gathers more than 20,000 participants from 124 countries in Rome.
During his address, the pontiff — who is of U.S. origin and Peruvian nationality — emphasized the importance of restoring the value of educators and reinforcing the principles that support the pact.
“We must be careful: damaging the social and cultural role of educators means mortgaging our own future,” he warned before thousands in attendance. “A crisis in the transmission of knowledge leads to a crisis of hope.”
The Global Compact on Education, launched by Pope Francis, seeks an integral and long-term cultural transformation. It is structured around five pillars: dignity and human rights; fraternity and cooperation; technology and integral ecology; education for peace and citizenship; and culture and religions. To date, the initiative has been joined by over 553 schools and nearly 410,000 students, according to Catholic Schools data.
Pope Leo XIV also expressed concern over the widespread inner fragility affecting both students and teachers — many of whom feel overwhelmed by bureaucratic burdens.
He additionally addressed the role of artificial intelligence in education, warning that it may worsen emotional isolation among learners: “It can further isolate students who are already isolated, giving them the illusion that they do not need others — or worse, the feeling that they are unworthy of them,” he said.
U.S. warns China over Taiwan during high-level defense talks in Kuala Lumpur
U.S. considering airstrikes on military sites in Venezuela, reports say
Pope Leo XIV revives Global Compact on Education to confront cultural crisis
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