China urges citizens to flee Myanmar conflict zones
FILE PHOTO: This photo taken on September 10, 2024 shows vendors preparing to rebuild their stalls at a market area in Lashio in Myanmar's northern Shan state, after the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army seized the town from Myanmar's military in August. The Chinese Embassy warned that there is currently a high security risk in areas such as Lashio. - AFP
YANGON: On August 6, the Chinese embassy in Myanmar issued a warning on the embassy's WeChat social network for Chinese citizens from Lashio and other places to move to a place or places away from conflict zones.
In a statement, the Chinese Embassy, warned that there is currently a high security risk in areas such as Lashio, Shan State in northern Myanmar. Therefore, Chinese nationals from Lashio and other places should promptly report their personal information to the embassy and consulate in Myanmar, strengthen security awareness; avoid risks and relocate as soon as possible; move to other places or away from conflict zones; and ensure personal and property safety.
In addition, the embassy has informed Chinese citizens to seek timely assistance from the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar and the Mandalay Consulate in case of emergency.
On July 25, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said that China is closely monitoring the situation in northern Myanmar as well as border security, so that it will not affect Chinese projects and residents of border areas.
China called for relevant organisations to negotiate and stop fighting so as to settle disputes in a peaceful manner and reduce tension; to continue the peace talks and maintain the momentum of the ceasefire and peace talks. - Eleven Media/ANN
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
With G7 on horizon, Lee Jae-myung races to fill key posts in South Korea
SEOUL: President Lee Jae-myung (pic) is set to enter his second week in office focused on filling key Cabinet posts and secretariat appointments, as he gears up for his diplomatic debut at the Group of Seven summit in Canada. Lee took the oath of office on Wednesday (June 4), immediately after the election victory and without a transition period, as his conservative predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, was impeached in mid-December last year for his brief imposition of martial law and removed from office in April. The new president is now tasked with addressing the fallout from the monthslong leadership void in South Korea while Washington's deadline on the pause of US President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs is about a month away. There are speculations that Lee's in-person meeting with US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba could materialise on the occasion of Lee's visit to Canada. Earlier this week, both Seoul and Washington confirmed that Lee had held phone talks with his US counterpart Friday night Seoul time. A day after the 20-minute phone call, Lee's spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a briefing Saturday that Lee has "made the decision to attend" the Group of Seven summit scheduled on June 15-17 in Canada. Lee's office has yet to unveil Lee's itinerary for the summit. Regarding Lee's potential meeting with Trump, an official from the presidential office said it was "faithfully preparing" for the meeting. The official added that phone talks with world leaders, such as Chinese President Xi Jinping, were also being arranged. Lee would become the first South Korean president to attend the G7 summit in two years, after his disgraced predecessor Yoon attended one in Hiroshima, Japan, in 2023. The surprising announcement over Lee's G7 summit attendance came a few weeks after Lee, then-presidential candidate of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea, said in a news conference on May 18 that he believed South Korea had not received an invitation for the summit. At the same news conference, Lee said that he prioritises domestic issues over his presence at the NATO summit scheduled for June 24-26 in the Netherlands, unless the event "specifically addresses current issues" of concern. On his first day in office, the first executive order Lee issued was to establish a body for the emergency economic review to address the faltering national economy. Meanwhile, Lee's office on Sunday announced more of Lee's secretary nominations, signaling a boost to resolve a social division and igniting a reform drive targeting the prosecution. Woo Sang-ho, a former four-term lawmaker, was nominated presidential secretary for political affairs. Woo has also formerly served in key leadership roles in the major liberal party, and is deemed a right fit for the position to revive bipartisanship and resolve social conflict in South Korea, given his lifelong experience in politics, Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik said in a briefing Sunday. Former prosecutor Oh Kwang-soo was named presidential secretary for civil affairs. Kang said Oh has a "deep understanding of Lee's initiatives to reform South Korea's prosecution." Referring to multiple criminal cases for which Lee was indicted, the presidential office said Lee had fallen victim to politically motivated prosecution, which often sought to remove political opponents of then-President Yoon. Also, Lee Kyu-youn, a career journalist and former CEO of JTBC, was picked as presidential secretary for public relations and communication. This follows the announcement of Lee's nominations of key figures in his first week of presidency, including prime minister nominee Kim Min-seok, Chief of Staff Kang, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac, Director of National Policy Kim Yong-beom, and others. While the two more senior presidential secretary seats remain vacant as of press time, alongside deputy director posts at the presidential National Security Office, the presidential office was "still reviewing" future nominations, according to an official who asked for anonymity. Another official of the presidential office said that Lee's future nominations for Cabinet ministers will not come into shape in the near future. The official said, "The prime minister nominee is now preparing for the parliament's confirmation hearing. We need to wait and see how the hearing proceeds." The official also hinted at introducing the national system in the future, which would allow ordinary people to recommend public official nominations, as promised during Lee's presidential campaign. - The Korea Herald/ANN
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Trump's Pardons Raise Alarms Over Political Favoritism
WASHINGTON: Reality TV stars. Former lawmakers. A sheriff. A nursing home executive. A drug kingpin. What do they have in common? They are among the Americans convicted of crimes who have received pardons from President Donald Trump since he took office in January. And while US presidents have doled out questionable pardons in the past, Trump is doing so 'in a bigger, more aggressive way with sort of no sense of shame,' said Kermit Roosevelt, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania. 'The pardon power has always been a little bit problematic because it's this completely unconstrained power that the president has,' Roosevelt told AFP. 'Most presidents have issued at least some pardons where people look at them and they say: 'This seems to be self-serving' or 'This seems to be corrupt in some way.'' But Trump is doling out pardons 'that look like they're almost quid pro quo for financial donations,' Roosevelt said. Among those receiving a pardon was Paul Walczak, a nursing home executive convicted of tax crimes and whose mother attended a $1-million-per-plate fund-raising dinner at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in April. Other beneficiaries of Trump pardons include reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were serving lengthy prison sentences for bank fraud and tax evasion. Their daughter, Savannah, is a prominent Trump supporter and gave a speech at last year's Republican National Convention. More than half a dozen former Republican lawmakers convicted of various crimes have also received pardons along with a Virginia sheriff sentenced to 10 years in prison for taking $75,000 in bribes. On his first day in office, Trump pardoned more than 1,500 supporters who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 as they sought to prevent congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. The next day, Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, who had been serving a life sentence for running the 'Silk Road' online marketplace that facilitated millions of dollars of drug sales. Just another deal' Barbara McQuade, a former prosecutor who now teaches law at the University of Michigan, said Trump is not the first president to be accused of 'allowing improper factors to influence their pardon decisions.' Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton's pardon of a commodities trader whose wife was a major Democratic donor and Biden's pardon of his son, Hunter, and other family members all drew some criticism. '(But) Trump is in a class by himself in both scope and shamelessness,' McQuade said in a Bloomberg opinion column. 'To him, pardons are just another deal. 'As long as a defendant can provide something of value in return, no crime seems too serious,' she said. Democratic lawmaker Jamie Raskin, in a letter to Ed Martin, Trump's pardon attorney at the Justice Department, asked what criteria are being used to recommend pardons. 'It at least appears that you are using the Office of the Pardon Attorney to dole out pardons as favors to the President's loyal political followers and most generous donors,' Raskin wrote. Martin for his part has made no secret of the partisan nature of the pardons recommended by his office. 'No MAGA left behind,' Martin said on X after the pardon of the bribe-taking Virginia sheriff, a reference to Trump's 'Make America Great Again' slogan. Lee Kovarsky, a University of Texas law professor, said Trump's 'pardon spree' opens up a 'menacing new frontier of presidential power' that he calls 'patronage pardoning.' By reducing the penalty for misconduct, Trump is making a 'public commitment to protect and reward loyalism, however criminal,' Kovarsky said in a New York Times opinion piece.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Trump rewarding loyalists with pardon spree
WASHINGTON: Reality TV stars. Former lawmakers. A sheriff. A nursing home executive. A drug kingpin. What do they have in common? They are among the Americans convicted of crimes who have received pardons from President Donald Trump since he took office in January. And while US presidents have doled out questionable pardons in the past, Trump is doing so 'in a bigger, more aggressive way with sort of no sense of shame,' said Kermit Roosevelt, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania. 'The pardon power has always been a little bit problematic because it's this completely unconstrained power that the president has,' Roosevelt told AFP. 'Most presidents have issued at least some pardons where people look at them and they say: 'This seems to be self-serving' or 'This seems to be corrupt in some way.'' But Trump is doling out pardons 'that look like they're almost quid pro quo for financial donations,' Roosevelt said. Among those receiving a pardon was Paul Walczak, a nursing home executive convicted of tax crimes and whose mother attended a $1-million-per-plate fund-raising dinner at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in April. Other beneficiaries of Trump pardons include reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were serving lengthy prison sentences for bank fraud and tax evasion. Their daughter, Savannah, is a prominent Trump supporter and gave a speech at last year's Republican National Convention. More than half a dozen former Republican lawmakers convicted of various crimes have also received pardons along with a Virginia sheriff sentenced to 10 years in prison for taking $75,000 in bribes. On his first day in office, Trump pardoned more than 1,500 supporters who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 as they sought to prevent congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. The next day, Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, who had been serving a life sentence for running the 'Silk Road' online marketplace that facilitated millions of dollars of drug sales. 'Just another deal' Barbara McQuade, a former prosecutor who now teaches law at the University of Michigan, said Trump is not the first president to be accused of 'allowing improper factors to influence their pardon decisions.' Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton's pardon of a commodities trader whose wife was a major Democratic donor and Biden's pardon of his son, Hunter, and other family members all drew some criticism. '(But) Trump is in a class by himself in both scope and shamelessness,' McQuade said in a Bloomberg opinion column. 'To him, pardons are just another deal. 'As long as a defendant can provide something of value in return, no crime seems too serious,' she said. Democratic lawmaker Jamie Raskin, in a letter to Ed Martin, Trump's pardon attorney at the Justice Department, asked what criteria are being used to recommend pardons. 'It at least appears that you are using the Office of the Pardon Attorney to dole out pardons as favors to the President's loyal political followers and most generous donors,' Raskin wrote. Martin for his part has made no secret of the partisan nature of the pardons recommended by his office. 'No MAGA left behind,' Martin said on X after the pardon of the bribe-taking Virginia sheriff, a reference to Trump's 'Make America Great Again' slogan. Lee Kovarsky, a University of Texas law professor, said Trump's 'pardon spree' opens up a 'menacing new frontier of presidential power' that he calls 'patronage pardoning.' By reducing the penalty for misconduct, Trump is making a 'public commitment to protect and reward loyalism, however criminal,' Kovarsky said in a New York Times opinion piece.
