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American Military News
14 hours ago
- Business
- American Military News
Innovative Chinese dissident uses cryptocurrency to fund his activism
This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission. To skeptics, a meme coin is a fast way to make a cheap buck. For exiled activist Li Ying, it's been a way to bankroll a pro-democracy community that's challenging Chinese censorship and authoritarian rule. Li, 32, is better known by his handle on the social media platform X: 'Teacher Li is not your teacher.' He's built a following of more than 2 million by posting news that Chinese authorities don't want people to see. Last December, he branched out to launch $Li, a form of cryptocurrency modeled after his own social media avatar — a hand-drawn tabby cat. The goal was to provide financial support for his initiatives to crowd-source data from inside China on social issues like overwork by students and laborers with an aim to promote change. But his move split the Chinese diaspora. While some supporters rallied behind Li, many activists and former supporters of Li condemned the launch as a fraud and an act of self-dealing. On its debut, $Li reached a market capitalization in the tens of millions of U.S. dollars. But the price quickly plunged. As of the time of reporting, $Li's market cap had dropped more than 80%, to less than $2 million. Li concedes that his personal reputation took a beating, but he says that the coin's launch has stimulated a debate about how cryptocurrency might be used to fund the activities of dissident groups beyond the reach of governments — not least the long arm of the Chinese Communist Party. As an exiled influencer challenging Beijing's censorship machine, Li said he has been facing threats and pressure from Chinese authorities. Li said he lost his job in Italy, had his bank accounts in China frozen, and struggled to make a living through individual donations. In 2023, he publicly disclosed that his ad revenue from X averaged just €568 per month (about US$650) — well below the average monthly income in Italy. 'I had no choice but to launch a cryptocurrency,' Li told RFA. According to a statement issued by Li on X, $Li had a total supply of 1 billion coins, with pricing left to market forces. A foundation was to be established to oversee the coin, with 19.5% of tokens held by the foundation and 2% held by Li himself. Li said he froze the majority of his own holdings because he has no plans to sell. The remainder has been used for payments to staff involved in initiatives promoting democracy in China. One of the managers of the foundation, Canada-based influencer 'Toronto Squareface,' stated in a post on his X account that the use of funds would be determined through a democratic process. All transactions would be publicly recorded and transparent under the blockchain technology. In a statement on X, Li said he plans to use the foundation to build community supporting initiatives that promote freedom of speech and press freedom in China.$Li will not hold any presale, meaning that there will be no early access sales to any investors, and the team has no authority to mint additional tokens. According to the latest data from a trading platform GMGN, there are 6,283 holders of $Li. Shortly after its launch, some platforms flagged $Li as a scam or high-risk token and banned its trading. Li explained to RFA that this was primarily because those platforms have Chinese ownership, such as the on-chain wallet OKX. He added that $Li was labeled a scam as part of a political attack by the Chinese authorities. Despite the reassurances offered by Li about the management of $Li, many of his supporters turned against him after its launch, accusing him of betrayal and opportunism. 'He (Li) has changed under immense pressure and the temptation of money,' wrote Huang Yicheng, an organizer and exile who participated in China's anti-Covid protests. He announced on X that he was cutting ties with Li. Huang accused Li of leveraging public trust to enrich himself, which Li denies. Others claim that under the guise of promoting democracy in China, Li's real goal was to exploit investors. Some critics even drew comparisons to Guo Wengui, the self-styled Chinese dissident and vocal supporter of Donald Trump. Guo was convicted on multiple counts of fraud and money laundering for allegedly using his online influence to scam followers out of more than $1 billion, including through a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme. Li's supporters, however, view the meme coin's launch as an innovation in the civic movement. 'Li burst onto the scene like a disruptor no one expected,' said Jiangbu, who prefers to be identified by a pseudonym for security reasons. He's a Paris-based non-governmental organization activist focusing on social issues in China. Jiangbu, who once led overseas protests against China's zero-covid policy, said he's familiar with the slow grind of traditional non-profit work — securing grants, drafting reports, executing programs. 'What Li did was create money out of thin air,' said Jiangbu, who has served as a coordinator for one of the initiatives funded by $Li. 'The project is efficient, and everyone gets a little reward and has a real sense of participation. It's incredibly innovative.' According to Aaron Zhang, a member of Li's team who is also being identified by a pseudonym due to security concerns, staff chose $Li as a payment mechanism because of cryptocurrency's anonymity. This has made it difficult for the Chinese government to trace transactions back to individual investors, thereby protecting their safety. Despite the criticism Li has faced, he said he succeeded in building a cryptocurrency-based community capable of launching initiatives with real impact on China. 'Every time you come back from the brink,' Li said, 'you come back stronger.'
American Military News
2 days ago
- Politics
- American Military News
Thai, Cambodian militaries chart path forward after deadly border fight
This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission. BANGKOK, Thailand – Military leaders from Thailand and Cambodia met on Tuesday to agree on details of a ceasefire, brokered amid pressure from the U.S., that halted five days of deadly skirmishes along their disputed border. Regional military commanders along the 800-kilometer border agreed to halt gunfire, refrain from moving troops and establish direct bilateral communications, according to a Thai army spokesman and a spokesperson from the Cambodian defense ministry. Acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Vejjayachai on Tuesday accused Cambodian troops of violating the ceasefire. The Thai government said it had filed a complaint about the alleged violation to Malaysia, the U.S. and China. Cambodia's defense minister, Tea Seiha, denied the claim, writing on Facebook that Cambodia's armed forces has been strictly observing the truce. He said the Cambodian defense ministry would lead a delegation of foreign diplomats to observe the border. Local sources near the border told RFA that gunfire was heard periodically in the predawn hours on Tuesday. An Agence France-Press journalist near the border said the sound of gunfire stopped ahead of the midnight deadline, a quiet that continued into Tuesday evening. Thailand's Phumtham and Prime Minister Hun Manet of Cambodia appeared together on Monday to announce the ceasefire, brokered with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia, the annual chair of the ASEAN regional bloc. The announcement came amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who said that continued fighting could stall negotiations for a trade deal with the U.S. Both countries face a 36% tariff on their goods unless a reduction can be negotiated. After the deal was announced, Trump said he had spoken with both leaders and told his team to restart talks. At least 43 people were killed and around 300,000 were displaced during the fighting, which included jets, rockets and artillery. Some locals, like Cambodian Soklang Slay, expressed wariness as they returned to their homes on Tuesday. 'I am very concerned that new fighting may break out. Thailand often provokes the fighting first, but then accuses Cambodia. Their aims is that they want to occupy our temples [along the border]. I really don't want to see any new fighting happen,' he told the Associated Press. Supalak Ganjanakhundee, an author and former editor of the Nation newspaper in Bangkok who lives in his hometown in Kantharalak district, Sisaket province, was among those displaced. He had to evacuate, he said, and lost his cattle and his chance to harvest ripe durian fruit. 'The recent border skirmish between Thailand and Cambodia was senseless and served no real benefit to either nation. It did, however, serve the interests of the Thai military and Cambodia's ruling family,' he told RFA, referring to the spat between Hun Manet and suspended Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. 'Politically, the conflict has placed the government of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on the brink of collapse. The failure of coherent diplomacy has opened the door to external interventions — most notably by the United States and China — complicating an already volatile situation.' To resolve their issues long-term, he said both countries must accept the presence of international observers to monitor and verify the truce's implementation. 'At the same time, they must reactivate dormant bilateral mechanisms to address critical issues of border security and the long-overdue boundary demarcation,' he said. Includes reporting by RFA Khmer and Pimuk Rakkanam for RFA, as well as Agence France-Presse, The Associated Press, and Reuters.
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First Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
Radio silence: Trump's fund cuts gift Kim Jong-un a tighter grip on North Korea's ‘mind apartheid'
As US-funded broadcasts are slashed, millions of North Koreans are left more isolated than ever cut off from the outside world and solely at the mercy of the regime's propaganda read more In the world's hermit kingdom, the rulers appear anything but hermits — the face allegations of relentlessly hounding their hapless citizens in a, what many describe as, barbaric fashion, crushing human rights as a hippopotamus crushes a watermelon: with brute force and no second thought. While the rest of the world thrives fighting for greater and unrestricted access to information, those in North Korea are understood to live under an apartheid of the mind, cut off from realities of the world, deliberately by a regime that distorts or blocks information to suit its grip on power. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD For many in North Korea, the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia stood as rare lifelines — vital sources of uncensored news for the bold few willing to risk everything to tune in. But that's now a thing of the past. In a Maga move, US President Donald Trump — who once claimed he 'developed a very good relationship' with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un — pulled the plug from these radio services. A switch in DC, silence in Pyongyang When the US Senate passed a funding cut earlier this month, it effectively ended decades of American support for independent media channels that had managed to pierce North Korea's ironclad information barrier. The decision prompted widespread alarm as it became obvious that this move could plunge North Korea's 26 million citizens into even deeper informational darkness, a report in South China Morning Post said. Broadcasts from the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia — two long-standing American-backed radio channels — had served as vital channels, providing North Koreans with unfiltered insights into global affairs, human rights and life beyond their tightly controlled borders. The radio programmes reportedly saw their broadcasts reduced by as much as 80 per cent after an executive order issued by Trump in March called for the dismantling of their parent agency, the United States Agency for Global Media, the Hing Kong-based newspaper reported. Silence after the signal North Korea experts, including Human Rights Watch's Teppei Kasai, expressed concern that this informational blackout would hinder international awareness of North Korea's worsening human rights situation. According to Martyn Williams, a senior fellow at the Stimson Centre, the timing could not have been better for Pyongyang's censors. In his analysis for 38 North, he observed that North Korean propagandists had been battling the flow of foreign broadcasts for decades. Suddenly, with no effort on their part, the playing field had tilted decisively in their favour, the South China Morning Post reported. From unity to discord The blow to North Korea-focussed media and human rights efforts didn't occur in a vacuum. For nearly two decades, the North Korean Human Rights Act had anchored America's engagement with the country on a bipartisan basis. Passed in 2004 and renewed in subsequent years, the legislation ensured funding for radio broadcasts, satellite analysis and human rights documentation. These efforts informed everything from US sanctions policy to United Nations reports on crimes against humanity. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, that act quietly expired in 2022. Though funding had temporarily continued through the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour (DRL), recent cuts proposed by the Trump administration aim to all but eliminate DRL's global funding. Human rights advocates have warned that this move will not only gut existing projects but destroy the infrastructure and institutional expertise necessary to rebuild them later, senior Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch Lina Yoon wrote in Foreign Policy in Focus. Real-world consequences The stakes go far beyond theoretical policy losses. Civil society organisations once supported by the act are now struggling to survive. Groups like the Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights, which had previously traced illicit financial networks tied to North Korea's cyber theft operations, are at risk of shuttering. The DailyNK, a Seoul-based newsroom that reports using sources inside North Korea, may soon fall silent. Similarly, the Transitional Justice Working Group, known for its geocoding of execution and burial sites using scapee testimony and satellite imagery, may no longer be able to continue its work, Lina wrote. She feared that cutting off these data sources would severely compromise the US government's ability to make informed policy decisions. A regional reversal Compounding the problem, the recently elected South Korean administration under President Lee Jae-myung has reportedly taken a softer stance toward Pyongyang. In addition to ending government-led broadcasts into the North, Seoul has banned activists from launching balloons containing leaflets, rice, medicine and cash across the demilitarised zone. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Human rights observers noted that while this strategy may aim for diplomatic rapprochement, it simultaneously weakens the already scarce flow of outside information into North Korea. Williams from the Stimson Centre told South China Morning Post that the reduced broadcasts would leave North Koreans even more cut off from both local and global events. In a deteriorating security climate, such isolation could come at a high price, not only for North Koreans but for neighbouring countries and allies relying on accurate, timely intelligence. Why the world should pay attention The broader message from policy analysts and human rights organisations is clear: supporting independent media in North Korea is not charity — it's strategy, said Lina. And yet, the Trump administration's broad-stroke cuts threaten to erase years of painstaking progress. Organisations holding DRL grants, including the Unification Media Group and the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, may soon have no funds left to continue. Radio Free Asia has already ceased its Korean-language broadcasts, a move that could embolden Pyongyang's censors and silence dissident voices before they ever reach the airwaves. A future in the dark? Unless the US Congress takes urgent action to renew the North Korean Human Rights Act and protect funding for programmes that monitor and expose the regime's abuses, the world could lose its last windows into the country. As one expert put it, North Korea thrives in the dark. And with Washington now dimming the light, the shadows are growing longer.
American Military News
23-07-2025
- Politics
- American Military News
Taiwan holds annual live-fire, air raid drills that simulate Chinese attack
This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission. Air-raid sirens blared in Taipei and other cities in northern Taiwan on Thursday, part of annual drills testing the country's response to a potential invasion by China. Police stopped personal vehicles and public buses and directed pedestrians into shelters, such as basements and subway stations. Some shops and restaurants pulled down shutters and turned off lights, moves aimed to reduce their visibility during a potential nighttime attack. The drills also involved simulating wartime aid distribution and a mass-casualty event. Earlier this week, Taiwanese forces held their largest-ever military drills, which included simulating a response to an amphibious invasion of the Penghu Islands. Troops fired Javelin missiles, machine guns and tank rounds at maritime targets. Taiwanese forces also conducted maritime drills around the Matsu Islands involving speed boats, drones and mortars. Soldiers fired from rubber speed boats and positions on shore, responding to a simulated 'grey zone harassment' of the islands by Chinese Coast Guard and fishing vessels. In an early morning drill, Taiwan's military police used Taipei's subway system as it simulated the redeployment of troops and supplies. Taiwan's military also practiced securing and defending a major bridge in Taipei. This time they were firing blanks. Taiwanese military officials said the Han Kuang drills replicate full combat conditions, including simulated enemy attacks on communications and command systems and a full-blown invasion scenario.
American Military News
21-07-2025
- Business
- American Military News
U.S. Secretary of State Rubio meets Chinese Foreign Minister Wang at ASEAN
This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that he had 'positive and constructive' talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, amid tensions over tariffs and trade. Rubio was in Malaysia on his first Asia trip since taking office, looking to stress U.S. commitment to the region at the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum, as countries received notices of U.S. tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump this week. At a Thursday photo-op before the start of the U.S, Japan, Philippines trilateral meeting, Rubio learned the summit's signature 'ASEAN-way' handshake. 'How do we do that?' Rubio asked. 'The ASEAN-way' replied Philippines' Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro. Japan's Prime Minister Takeshi Iwaya then grabbed Rubio's hands and crossed them, with the three standing and smiling with the traditional cross-armed handshake for cameras. Rubio also met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov where they discussed the Russia-Ukraine war.
