Latest news with #China-linked
Epoch Times
3 days ago
- Epoch Times
CBP Blocks Seafood Linked to Suspected Forced Labor on Chinese Fishing Vessel
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said it is detaining at all ports any seafood linked to a Chinese fishing vessel suspected to use forced labor. 'Combatting forced labor is central to CBP's mission to protect the economic security of the United States,' CBP acting Commissioner Pete Flores CBP issued the May 28 withhold release order on vessel Zhen Fa 7, ordering its officers at all U.S. ports to block entry of seafood harvested from the Chinese-flagged vessel. The CBP said it had reasonable suspicion of forced labor, identifying abusive working and living conditions, physical and sexual violence, debt bondage, the retention of laborers' identity documents, and other issues. These afforded the Zhen Fa 7 labor costs below market value and 'unjustly earned profits' in a way that undercut American businesses, according to the press release. CBP currently has 52 active withhold release orders, and 36 of them are related to China-linked entities. The Tariff Act of 1930 prohibits the import of goods made by convict or forced labor, and a key expansion was made in 2022 with the enactment of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which blocks the importation of goods manufactured with forced labor in Xinjiang. Related Stories 1/14/2025 11/22/2024 The United States has determined that the Chinese communist regime systemically uses forced labor in Xinjiang, where the majority of China's cotton is produced. Xinjiang is also home to many of China's mining operations. In 2022, the United Nations also issued a U.S. agencies have According to CBP The shipments fall under a wide range of categories, including automotive and aerospace, electronics, apparel, consumer products, agriculture, base metals, pharmaceuticals, and machinery. The items do not all originate directly from China but often from Southeast Asia. Many of the shipments had a country of origin of Malaysia, Vietnam, or Thailand. These countries manufacture many goods sold to the United States with materials originating from China. CBP
The Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Czech FM summons Chinese ambassador over cyberattack
PRAGUE: The Czech Republic on Wednesday summoned China's ambassador over a cyberattack targeting Prague's foreign ministry as the EU and Washington condemned the attack and NATO warned of a growing threat. The Czech foreign ministry said an extensive investigation of the attack 'led to a high degree of certainty about the responsible actor', naming it as China-linked group APT31. 'I summoned the Chinese ambassador to make clear that such hostile actions have serious consequences for our bilateral relations,' Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on X. The foreign ministry of the Czech Republic, an EU and NATO member of 10.9 million people, said in a statement the attack started in 2022 and targeted 'one of the unclassified networks' of the ministry. 'The malicious activity... was perpetrated by the cyberespionage actor APT31 that is publicly associated with the (Chinese) Ministry of State Security,' the ministry added, citing its investigation. 'We call on the People's Republic of China to... refrain from such attacks and to take all appropriate measures to address this situation,' said the ministry. Lipavsky said that 'we detected the attackers during the intrusion'. The Chinese embassy in Prague slammed 'the unfounded accusations against the Chinese side'. 'China absolutely rejects the Czech Republic's accusations and smears against China under the pretext of cybersecurity without any evidence,' it added. 'Growing pattern' The Czech Security Information Office (BIS) singled out China as a threat to security in its 2024 annual report. 'The Chinese embassy logically focuses on gaining information about the Czech political scene,' the BIS said. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas condemned the cyberattack in a statement. 'In 2021, we urged Chinese authorities to take action against malicious cyber activities undertaken from their territory,' Kallas said, adding EU members have nonetheless witnessed attacks from China since then. NATO slammed the attack, saying it observed 'with increasing concern the growing pattern of malicious cyber activities stemming from the People's Republic of China'. Washington also condemned the attack and called on China to 'behave responsibly in cyberspace, adhering to its international commitments'. Taiwan ties Prague has recently angered Beijing by fostering close ties with Taiwan as high-profile Czech delegations, including the parliament speakers, have visited the island while Taiwanese officials came to Prague several times. China is trying to keep Taipei isolated on the world stage and prevents any sign of international legitimacy for the island. It sees such visits as an infringement of the one-China policy which Prague officially pursues, just like the rest of the EU. In May 2024, Lipavsky summoned the Russian ambassador over repeated cyberattacks targeting several European countries, including the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland. They blamed the attacks on the Russian group APT28, also known as Fancy Bear, which has ties to Russia's GRU military intelligence service. The BIS then said that Russia was a 'permanent security threat' for the Czech Republic, which provides substantial humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine battling a Russian invasion since 2022. It added the Chinese threat was also growing in the context of the Ukraine war as 'the North Korea-China axis keeps cultivating relations with Russia that give it a boost in the current conflict'.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Czech Republic Summons China Envoy Over Cyberattack
PRAGUE: The Czech Republic on Wednesday summoned China's ambassador over a cyberattack targeting Prague's foreign ministry as the EU and Washington condemned the attack and NATO warned of a growing threat. The Czech foreign ministry said an extensive investigation of the attack 'led to a high degree of certainty about the responsible actor', naming it as China-linked group APT31. 'I summoned the Chinese ambassador to make clear that such hostile actions have serious consequences for our bilateral relations,' Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on X. The foreign ministry of the Czech Republic, an EU and NATO member of 10.9 million people, said in a statement the attack started in 2022 and targeted 'one of the unclassified networks' of the ministry. 'The malicious activity... was perpetrated by the cyberespionage actor APT31 that is publicly associated with the (Chinese) Ministry of State Security,' the ministry added, citing its investigation. 'We call on the People's Republic of China to... refrain from such attacks and to take all appropriate measures to address this situation,' said the ministry. Lipavsky said that 'we detected the attackers during the intrusion'. The Chinese embassy in Prague slammed 'the unfounded accusations against the Chinese side'. 'China absolutely rejects the Czech Republic's accusations and smears against China under the pretext of cybersecurity without any evidence,' it added. 'Growing pattern' The Czech Security Information Office (BIS) singled out China as a threat to security in its 2024 annual report. 'The Chinese embassy logically focuses on gaining information about the Czech political scene,' the BIS said. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas condemned the cyberattack in a statement. 'In 2021, we urged Chinese authorities to take action against malicious cyber activities undertaken from their territory,' Kallas said, adding EU members have nonetheless witnessed attacks from China since then. NATO slammed the attack, saying it observed 'with increasing concern the growing pattern of malicious cyber activities stemming from the People's Republic of China'. Washington also condemned the attack and called on China to 'behave responsibly in cyberspace, adhering to its international commitments'. Taiwan ties Prague has recently angered Beijing by fostering close ties with Taiwan as high-profile Czech delegations, including the parliament speakers, have visited the island while Taiwanese officials came to Prague several times. China is trying to keep Taipei isolated on the world stage and prevents any sign of international legitimacy for the island. It sees such visits as an infringement of the one-China policy which Prague officially pursues, just like the rest of the EU. In May 2024, Lipavsky summoned the Russian ambassador over repeated cyberattacks targeting several European countries, including the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland. They blamed the attacks on the Russian group APT28, also known as Fancy Bear, which has ties to Russia's GRU military intelligence service. The BIS then said that Russia was a 'permanent security threat' for the Czech Republic, which provides substantial humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine battling a Russian invasion since 2022. It added the Chinese threat was also growing in the context of the Ukraine war as 'the North Korea-China axis keeps cultivating relations with Russia that give it a boost in the current conflict'.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Czech FM summons Chinese ambassador over cyberattack
The Czech Republic on Wednesday summoned China's ambassador over a cyberattack targeting Prague's foreign ministry as the EU and Washington condemned the attack and NATO warned of a growing threat. The Czech foreign ministry said an extensive investigation of the attack "led to a high degree of certainty about the responsible actor", naming it as China-linked group APT31. "I summoned the Chinese ambassador to make clear that such hostile actions have serious consequences for our bilateral relations," Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on X. The foreign ministry of the Czech Republic, an EU and NATO member of 10.9 million people, said in a statement the attack started in 2022 and targeted "one of the unclassified networks" of the ministry. "The malicious activity... was perpetrated by the cyberespionage actor APT31 that is publicly associated with the (Chinese) Ministry of State Security," the ministry added, citing its investigation. "We call on the People's Republic of China to... refrain from such attacks and to take all appropriate measures to address this situation," said the ministry. Lipavsky said that "we detected the attackers during the intrusion". The Chinese embassy in Prague slammed "the unfounded accusations against the Chinese side". "China absolutely rejects the Czech Republic's accusations and smears against China under the pretext of cybersecurity without any evidence," it added. - 'Growing pattern' - The Czech Security Information Office (BIS) singled out China as a threat to security in its 2024 annual report. "The Chinese embassy logically focuses on gaining information about the Czech political scene," the BIS said. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas condemned the cyberattack in a statement. "In 2021, we urged Chinese authorities to take action against malicious cyber activities undertaken from their territory," Kallas said, adding EU members have nonetheless witnessed attacks from China since then. NATO slammed the attack, saying it observed "with increasing concern the growing pattern of malicious cyber activities stemming from the People's Republic of China". Washington also condemned the attack and called on China to "behave responsibly in cyberspace, adhering to its international commitments". - Taiwan ties - Prague has recently angered Beijing by fostering close ties with Taiwan as high-profile Czech delegations, including the parliament speakers, have visited the island while Taiwanese officials came to Prague several times. China is trying to keep Taipei isolated on the world stage and prevents any sign of international legitimacy for the island. It sees such visits as an infringement of the one-China policy which Prague officially pursues, just like the rest of the EU. In May 2024, Lipavsky summoned the Russian ambassador over repeated cyberattacks targeting several European countries, including the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland. They blamed the attacks on the Russian group APT28, also known as Fancy Bear, which has ties to Russia's GRU military intelligence service. The BIS then said that Russia was a "permanent security threat" for the Czech Republic, which provides substantial humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine battling a Russian invasion since 2022. It added the Chinese threat was also growing in the context of the Ukraine war as "the North Korea-China axis keeps cultivating relations with Russia that give it a boost in the current conflict". bur-frj/jza/giv
France 24
3 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Czech FM summons Chinese ambassador over cyberattack
The Czech foreign ministry said an extensive investigation of the attack "led to a high degree of certainty about the responsible actor", naming it as China-linked group APT31. "I summoned the Chinese ambassador to make clear that such hostile actions have serious consequences for our bilateral relations," Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on X. The foreign ministry of the Czech Republic, an EU and NATO member of 10.9 million people, said in a statement the attack started in 2022 and targeted "one of the unclassified networks" of the ministry. "The malicious activity... was perpetrated by the cyberespionage actor APT31 that is publicly associated with the (Chinese) Ministry of State Security," the ministry added, citing its investigation. "We call on the People's Republic of China to... refrain from such attacks and to take all appropriate measures to address this situation," said the ministry. Lipavsky said that "we detected the attackers during the intrusion". The Chinese embassy in Prague slammed "the unfounded accusations against the Chinese side". "China absolutely rejects the Czech Republic's accusations and smears against China under the pretext of cybersecurity without any evidence," it added. 'Growing pattern' The Czech Security Information Office (BIS) singled out China as a threat to security in its 2024 annual report. "The Chinese embassy logically focuses on gaining information about the Czech political scene," the BIS said. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas condemned the cyberattack in a statement. "In 2021, we urged Chinese authorities to take action against malicious cyber activities undertaken from their territory," Kallas said, adding EU members have nonetheless witnessed attacks from China since then. NATO slammed the attack, saying it observed "with increasing concern the growing pattern of malicious cyber activities stemming from the People's Republic of China". Washington also condemned the attack and called on China to "behave responsibly in cyberspace, adhering to its international commitments". Taiwan ties Prague has recently angered Beijing by fostering close ties with Taiwan as high-profile Czech delegations, including the parliament speakers, have visited the island while Taiwanese officials came to Prague several times. China is trying to keep Taipei isolated on the world stage and prevents any sign of international legitimacy for the island. It sees such visits as an infringement of the one-China policy which Prague officially pursues, just like the rest of the EU. In May 2024, Lipavsky summoned the Russian ambassador over repeated cyberattacks targeting several European countries, including the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland. They blamed the attacks on the Russian group APT28, also known as Fancy Bear, which has ties to Russia's GRU military intelligence service. The BIS then said that Russia was a "permanent security threat" for the Czech Republic, which provides substantial humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine battling a Russian invasion since 2022. It added the Chinese threat was also growing in the context of the Ukraine war as "the North Korea-China axis keeps cultivating relations with Russia that give it a boost in the current conflict".
