Minggu, 07 Maret 2021

Switzerland referendum: Voters support ban on face coverings in public - BBC News

A poster promoting "Yes to the burka ban" is seen in Oberdorf, in the canton of Nidwalden, Switzerland, 16 February 2021
EPA

Switzerland has narrowly voted in favour of banning face coverings in public, including the burka or niqab worn by Muslim women.

Official results showed the measure had passed by 51.2% to 48.8% in Sunday's referendum.

The proposal was put forward by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) which campaigned with slogans such as "Stop extremism".

A leading Swiss Islamic group said it was "a dark day" for Muslims.

"Today's decision opens old wounds, further expands the principle of legal inequality, and sends a clear signal of exclusion to the Muslim minority," the Central Council of Muslims said in a statement, adding that it would challenge the decision in court.

The Swiss government had argued against the ban saying it was not up to the state to dictate what women wear.

According to research by the University of Lucerne (in German), almost no-one in Switzerland wears a burka and only around 30 women wear the niqab. About 5% of Switzerland's population of 8.6 million people are Muslim, most originating from Turkey, Bosnia and Kosovo.

Muslim face coverings explained
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Swiss people are given a direct say in their own affairs under the country's system of direct democracy. They are regularly invited to vote on various issues in national or regional referendums.

It is not the first time Islam has figured in a Swiss referendum. In 2009 citizens went against government advice and voted to ban the building of minarets - a proposal also put forward by the SVP which said minarets were a sign of Islamisation.

The proposal in Sunday's referendum did not mention Islam directly and was also aimed at stopping violent street protesters from wearing masks. However, the vote was widely referred to as "the burka ban".

The latest proposal predated the coronavirus pandemic, which has meant all Swiss adults having to wear masks in many settings.

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Swiss voters give face covering ban a 'jein'

Analysis by Imogen Foulkes, BBC News, Geneva

Was today's vote about all face coverings, from niqabs and burkas to the scarves rioters sometimes pull over their faces?

That's what the Yes campaigners from the Swiss People's Party insisted - but their posters and literature said otherwise, showing threatening looking women in black niqabs, and warning of Islamic extremism.

So does the result mean the Swiss are becoming more extreme? Are they Islamophobic?

Perhaps not. In the end, the ban only just squeaked through. In the past the Swiss People's Party has had much bigger majorities for its populist initiatives, often aimed at restricting asylum and immigration.

It successfully pushed through a ban on minarets in 2009 with a similar campaign to this one. But the debate around face coverings touched all sorts of different nerves. Many Swiss feminists view the burka and niqab as oppressive to women but they also oppose laws telling women what they can and cannot wear.

When it came to voting they were torn. A regular answer from women asked whether they would support the ban was "Jein", a cross between "Ja" (yes) and "Nein" (no). Today's close vote in Switzerland was probably very much a "Jein" as well.

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Sanija Ameti, a member of Switzerland's Muslim community, told the BBC that the campaign - and the depiction of Muslim women in the posters - had been upsetting.

"So many Muslims in Switzerland will feel insulted and not part of this society, and pushed into a corner where they don't belong. We don't look like these women in the pictures, we just don't," she said.

However, others in the Muslim community supported the ban.

Imam Mustafa Memeti, from the city of Bern, told the BBC he thought the motivation behind the campaign was "probably Islamophobic". But he said he supported the ban anyway because it could help to emancipate Muslim women in Switzerland.

Ahead of the vote, Walter Wobmann, chairman of the referendum committee and an SVP lawmaker, described Muslim face coverings as "a symbol for this extreme, political Islam which has become increasingly prominent in Europe and which has no place in Switzerland".

"In Switzerland our tradition is that you show your face. That is a sign of our basic freedoms," he said.

Amnesty International spoke out against the proposed ban, calling it "a dangerous policy that violates women's rights, including to freedom of expression and religion".

The wearing of Islamic veils in public has been a controversial topic in other European countries. France banned wearing a full face veil in public in 2011 while the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria and Bulgaria have put in place full or partial bans on wearing face coverings in public.

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2021-03-07 21:01:08Z
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Hundreds injured and many feared dead as huge explosions rip through city in Equatorial Guinea - Daily Mail

At least 17 people are killed and hundreds more injured as massive explosions from an army barracks rip through city in Equatorial Guinea

  • The city of Bata was rocked by a series of explosions at a military barracks on Sunday
  • The Health Ministry said 17 deaths have been registered and at least 420 people had been injured, while 'many' are feared to be trapped under the rubble
  • Hospitals are reportedly overwhelmed and appeals have been launched for blood donations and volunteers 
  • The cause of the blasts, which levelled homes in the Mondong Nkuantoma de Bata neighbourhood, is unknown

Hundreds are injured and more than a dozen dead after a series of large explosions rocked the city of Bata in Equatorial Guinea on Sunday. 

At least 17 people have been killed and some 420 injured in the blasts, the Ministry of Education said, citing hospital reports. 

'Many' more are feared dead or trapped under rubble, the ministry said in a series of tweets on Sunday which included an appeal for blood donations and for voluntary health workers to go to the Bata Regional Hospital.

The cause of the blasts is unknown but the health ministry said the explosions had happened at a military base in the city's Mondong Nkuantoma de Bata neighbourhood.

Hundreds are injured and many feared dead after a series of large explosions rocked the city of Bata in Equatorial Guinea on Sunday

Hundreds are injured and many feared dead after a series of large explosions rocked the city of Bata in Equatorial Guinea on Sunday

The cause of the blasts is unknown but the health ministry said the explosions had happened at a military base in the city's Mondong Nkuantoma de Bata neighbourhood

Deutsche Welle, citing local witnesses, reported that there were four blasts, which began at 1pm local time.

Local television showed groups of people pulling bodies from under piles of rubble. Some of the bodies were carried away wrapped in bed sheets. 

Hospitals in the central African nation are reportedly overwhelmed, with local media footage showing pick-up trucks filled with survivors, many of whom were children, drive up to the front of a local hospital where some victims were seen lying on the floor.  

In the blast area, iron roofs were ripped off half-destroyed houses and lay twisted amid the rubble, Reuters news agency reported. Only a wall or two remained of most residences. People ran in all directions, many of them screaming.

A column of smoke reached into the sky and around its base firefighters sought to calm the blaze. 

Unverified videos shared on Twitter and claiming to have been filmed from near the blast site showed plumes of smoke rising into the sky and debris from buildings littering the roadside.

In one clip, people could be heard screaming as the camera panned between roofless buildings.  

Local media reported that the vice president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue had arrived at the scene of the explosion.

'Pain has hit Equatorial Guinea again right in the middle of its fight against the coronavirus pandemic with explosions this Sunday in the Rapid Intervention Barracks in Nkoantoma, in city of Bata. From here, I express my sincere grief for the victims,' the vice president tweeted. 

'Following developments in Equatorial Guinea with concern after the explosions in the city of Bata,' said Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya on Twitter.

The Spanish Embassy in Malabo encouraged its nationals to stay in their homes.

The blast comes as Equatorial Guinea, an oil producer, is suffering a double economic shock linked to the coronavirus pandemic and a drop in the price of crude, which provides around three-quarters of state revenue. 

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2021-03-07 19:04:37Z
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Switzerland votes in favour of ‘burka ban’ outlawing face coverings - Financial Times

Swiss voters have narrowly approved a nationwide ban on face coverings that will outlaw full-face Islamic veils, despite opposition from the federal government and the Muslim community.

With only a small number of votes left to be counted on Sunday evening, results showed about 52 per cent of Swiss had backed a proposal to outlaw most face coverings. There are exceptions for medical masks and celebratory carnival-type masks.

Under Switzerland’s system of direct democracy, the referendum result will mean the ban is formally incorporated into the Swiss constitution.

The rightwing populist Swiss People’s party — the largest political party in the wealthy alpine country — campaigned vigorously in support of the measure, which it cast as a stance against religious extremism and political Islam.

But support was markedly lower for the ban in comparison to the 2009 referendum — fought along similar cultural faultlines — in which Switzerland banned the construction of new minarets at mosques.

Voters also narrowly approved a free trade deal with Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country. Just over 51 per cent voted for the pact — a far narrower victory than many in the Swiss political and business community had expected. In particular, opposition to the trade deal from the environmentally conscious Swiss crystallised in recent weeks around the issue of Indonesian palm oil production. 

Representatives of Switzerland’s Muslim community condemned the ban on face coverings. “Today’s decision opens old wounds, further expands the principle of legal inequality and sends a clear signal of exclusion to the Muslim minority,” the Central Council of Muslims said in a statement.

While the law does not specifically identify Islam as its target, the referendum is widely referred to in Switzerland as the “burka ban”.

Switzerland is home to some 450,000 Muslims — about 5 per cent of the country’s population. Only a tiny proportion wear full face coverings.

The Italian-speaking canton of Ticino has banned face-veils since 2013 and Denmark, France, Austria, Belgium and Bulgaria have all prohibited the wearing of full Muslim veils in public.

The referendum was triggered in 2017 after 100,000 signatures were collected from Swiss citizens supporting a nationwide vote on the issue.

The Swiss government in Bern declared its opposition to the ban earlier this year, arguing that full face coverings were a marginal phenomenon.

Sunday’s result nevertheless showed a clear majority of Swiss cantons backed the measure, with the exception of the country’s large urban centres. A majority of voters in the cantons of Basel, Bern, Geneva and Zurich rejected the proposal.

“The people have said that the veiling of a woman does not have any place in our culture,” said Walter Wobmann, a parliamentarian for the Swiss Peoples’ party and chairman of the committee that formally proposed the vote. The vote against religious face coverings was a “symbolically” important move, Wobmann said.

The ban is widely opposed by many in the Swiss hospitality industry, who say it will hurt tourism.

“A veiling ban at national level [will] damage Switzerland’s image in Muslim countries in the long term. This would not only affect vacation tourism, but also the [trade] and business sector,” said officials from the influential Association of Swiss Tourism.

“It is a mockery that the [Swiss People’s party] played itself up as the saviour of women in the referendum campaign,” said parliamentarian Tamara Funiciello, co-president of the Swiss Social Democratic party’s women’s movement. Just 30 women in Switzerland actually wore a full niqab, Funiciello added.

“This party considered marital rape as not problematic, denies wage inequality and opposes, still today, any improvement of the situation of women in this country and internationally.”

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2021-03-07 18:31:53Z
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Switzerland referendum: Voters support ban on face coverings in public - BBC News

A poster promoting "Yes to the burka ban" is seen in Oberdorf, in the canton of Nidwalden, Switzerland, 16 February 2021
EPA

Switzerland has narrowly voted in favour of banning face coverings in public, including the burka or niqab worn by Muslim women.

Official results showed the measure had passed by 51.2% to 48.8% in Sunday's referendum.

The proposal was put forward by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) which campaigned with slogans such as "Stop extremism".

A leading Swiss Islamic group said it was "a dark day" for Muslims.

"Today's decision opens old wounds, further expands the principle of legal inequality, and sends a clear signal of exclusion to the Muslim minority," the Central Council of Muslims said in a statement, adding that it would challenge the decision in court.

The BBC's Imogen Foulkes, in Geneva, says the result is not the thumping majority that the SVP had hoped for but it is enough to ensure a ban on face coverings will be written into Switzerland's constitution.

The Swiss government had argued against the ban saying it was not up to the state to dictate what women wear.

According to research by the University of Lucerne (in German), almost no-one in Switzerland wears a burka and only around 30 women wear the niqab. About 5% of Switzerland's population of 8.6 million people are Muslim, most originating from Turkey, Bosnia and Kosovo.

Muslim face coverings explained
spacer

Swiss people are given a direct say in their own affairs under the country's system of direct democracy. They are regularly invited to vote on various issues in national or regional referendums.

It is not the first time Islam has figured in a Swiss referendum. In 2009 citizens went against government advice and voted to ban the building of minarets - a proposal also put forward by the SVP which said minarets were a sign of Islamisation.

The proposal in Sunday's referendum did not mention Islam directly and was also aimed at stopping violent street protesters from wearing masks. However, the vote was widely referred to as "the burka ban".

The latest proposal predated the coronavirus pandemic, which has meant all Swiss adults having to wear masks in many settings.

Ahead of the vote, Walter Wobmann, chairman of the referendum committee and an SVP lawmaker, described Muslim face coverings as "a symbol for this extreme, political Islam which has become increasingly prominent in Europe and which has no place in Switzerland".

"In Switzerland our tradition is that you show your face. That is a sign of our basic freedoms," he said.

Amnesty International spoke out against the proposed ban, calling it "a dangerous policy that violates women's rights, including to freedom of expression and religion".

The wearing of Islamic veils in public has been a controversial topic in other European countries. France banned wearing a full face veil in public in 2011 while the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria and Bulgaria have put in place full or partial bans on wearing face coverings in public.

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2021-03-07 18:07:19Z
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Biden on brink of passing historic $1.9tn boost to US economy - Financial Times

Joe Biden is on the brink of securing final approval from Congress for his $1.9tn stimulus bill — a bet that massive fiscal intervention aimed at lower and middle class families will speed up America’s recovery without overheating the economy.

After the US Senate voted to approve the package on Saturday, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives is poised to give its final green light to the bill on Tuesday, allowing it to be signed into law by Biden.

Barring any last-minute trouble in the House, where Democrats hold a slim majority, the stimulus legislation will mark a big political victory for Biden, who made it his top priority since entering the White House on January 20.

The stimulus bill — known as the American Rescue Plan — represents one of the largest US government interventions in the economy of the post-world war two era — just short of the size of the $2.2tn March 2020 pandemic stimulus, but larger than the $787bn recovery plan during the 2009 financial crisis.

The prospects for its passage have already led many private-sector economists to upgrade their forecasts for US growth this year. Federal Reserve officials are likely to do the same when they publish their latest economic projections next week.

But the plan has attracted criticism from Republican lawmakers — who have so far unanimously opposed the plan — as well as some economists, including Lawrence Summers, the treasury secretary under Bill Clinton — who say it risks a harmful spike in inflation.

A recent sell-off in long-term government debt — with yields on 10-year Treasury bonds rising above 1.5 per cent for the first time in more than a year — has fuelled those concerns, though senior US policymakers including Janet Yellen, the treasury secretary, and Jay Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, have dismissed the worries.

Around the world, the US stimulus package could give a fresh jolt to the global recovery amid hopes that widespread vaccinations throughout the year will help reopen many economies. But any unintended jump in US inflation or debt yields could unsettle markets and prove particularly harmful for emerging markets.

Domestically, Biden’s top aides and many Democrats on Sunday touted the plan as “historic and transformational” legislation for families that have struggled through the pandemic. The bill — which will be financed entirely by adding to the US deficit — will dispatch $1,400 means-tested payments to most Americans; extend emergency federal jobless benefits worth $300 per week until September; increase a tax credit for children; provide aid to states and local governments; and boost funding for schools and vaccinations.

“This is a bill that reflects President Biden’s belief that the best way to get the economy back on track and get it growing is to invest in working people and middle class people,” Kate Bedingfield, the White House communications director, told CNN. “It is urgent aid that is going to help people all across the country but it’s also making a long-term investment,” she added.

The US president had applauded passage of the Senate’s version in remarks on Saturday, following an all-night session in the upper chamber of Congress.

Biden was on Sunday expected to sign an executive order to boost voting rights, at an event commemorating the civil rights protesters who were tear-gassed and beaten by state troopers in Selma Alabama 56 years ago. 

Senate passage of the stimulus legislation — by a party-line 50 to 49 vote — was held up for hours as Democratic leaders sought to get the decisive consent of Joe Manchin, the moderate West Virginia Democrat, who was insisting on tighter terms for the jobless benefits.

On Sunday, Manchin did the rounds of US television networks to trumpet his role in the talks, rejecting any fears that the Biden plan was excessive.

“I can assure you, we have helped every segment of society right now, more so than ever before with this piece of targeted legislation,” he told Fox News Sunday.


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2021-03-07 16:43:52Z
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'Iraq will always remain with me, in my heart': Pope's message to packed Erbil stadium - Sky News

Pope Francis has said Mass to thousands of people in the packed Franso Hariri stadium in Erbil.

At the end of the last official event before he returns to Rome on Monday, Francis told the crowd: "Iraq will always remain with me, in my heart."

He closed by saying "salam, salam, salam [peace, peace, peace]".

Pope Francis in Mosul - on the third day of his historic tour
Image: Pope Francis in Mosul - on the third day of his historic tour

Earlier, The Pope led prayers in Mosul - a former stronghold of terror group Islamic State.

He flew in by helicopter and was greeted by crowds in the decimated northern Iraqi city, where just a handful of Christian families now live.

Thousands of Christians fled the area during the IS occupation, where they were faced with conversion, death, or paying a tax for non-Muslims.

More from Iraq

On the way to the venue, he stopped by the ruins of homes and cathedrals that had been destroyed by IS violence, to hold a moment of silence.

He then took part in the service from a once-bustling city square, surrounded by the ruins of several damaged churches, which were destroyed when IS overran the area in 2014.

The papacy visited an area that was ruined by IS during their occupation
Image: The Pope visited an area that was ruined by IS during its occupation

"How cruel it is that this country, the cradle of civilization, should have been afflicted by so barbarous a blow, with ancient places of worship destroyed and many thousands of people - Muslims, Christians, Yazidis and others - forcibly displaced or killed," he told the crowd.

"Today, however, we reaffirm our conviction that fraternity is more durable than fratricide, that hope is more powerful than hatred, that peace more powerful than war."

Pope Francis added that hope could not be "silenced by the blood spilled by those who pervert the name of God to pursue paths of destruction".

In prayer, he said: "If God is the God of life - for so he is - then it is wrong for us to kill our brothers and sisters in his name. If God is the God of peace - for so he is - then it is wrong for us to wage war in his name.

"If God is the God of love - for so he is - then it is wrong for us to hate our brothers and sisters."

Pope Francis releases a white dove during a prayer for war victims at 'Hosh al-Bieaa', Church Square, in Mosul's Old City, Iraq, March 7, 2021. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily
Image: A white dove is released in a sign of peace

He concluded the prayer saying: "To you we entrust all those whose span of earthly life was cut short by the violent hand of their brothers and sisters; we also pray to you for those who caused such harm to their brothers and sisters. May they repent, touched by the power of your mercy."

A white dove was also released by Pope Francis, to symbolise peace - a running theme for his papal visit.

In 2014, in Mosul's al-Nuri mosque, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi gave a sermon in an extremely rare public appearance, where he announced the IS caliphate.

Mosul was liberated in July 2017 after a brutal three-year regime of terror in the city, that left an estimated 9,000-11,000 people dead.

Pope Francis arrives to hold a minute of silence at the destroyed cathedral
Image: Pope Francis arrives to hold a minute of silence at a destroyed cathedral

The Vatican hopes that Pope Francis's appearance in Mosul will encourage Christian communities to stay in the area, despite years of violence and persecution.

The Pope visited one of the most influential Muslim leaders in the world on Saturday, Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, where the men discussed the issues facing Christian communities in the country.

Following the meeting, al Sistani said he wanted Muslims and Christians to coexist in Iraq, and called on other religious leaders to hold great powers to account and for wisdom and sense to prevail over war.

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2021-03-07 16:38:18Z
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World War 3 warning: China's chilling threat to US as Biden told he's 'playing with fire' - Daily Express

China: PLA Rocket Force issues rally cry with musical promotion

And the superpower’s foreign minister has emphasised ’s absolute refusal to countenance any compromise or concessions with respect to the island. Speaking today in Beijing, Wang Yii urged the administration to roll back what he called former President Trump’s “dangerous practice” of showing support for , which China regards as its own territory in accordance with its “One China” policy.

Wang told a news conference during the annual meeting of China’s ceremonial legislature his country’s claim on Taiwan was an “insurmountable red line”.

He added: “The Chinese government has no room for compromise or concessions on the Taiwan issue.

“We urge the new US administration to fully understand the high sensitivity of the Taiwan issue.”

Joe Biden Xi Jinping

US President Joe Biden and China's leader Xi Jinping (Image: GETTY)

Wang Yi

Wang Yi speaking by videolink during today's event (Image: GETTY)

He urged Mr Biden to “completely change the previous administration’s dangerous practices of ‘crossing the line’ and ‘playing with fire’.”

Wang would not be drawn on what action his country might take if Mr Biden does not reverse course.

However, the Communist Party has vowed to invade if Taiwan, which unlike the mainland operates as a democracy, ever declares formal independence.

READ MORE: Brexit superwoman Liz Truss eyes US megadeal worth £12bn every year

Taiwan military exercise

A tank takes part in a Taiwanese military exercise (Image: GETTY)

Under Mr Trump, tensions over the island spiked significantly, especially after two senior officials, former Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Keith Krach, who served as Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, visited last year.

In an apparent response to Mr Krach’s visit, the PLA launched a series of military drills which resulted in 19 Chinese jets crossing the median line which runs along the Taiwan Strait, and which has traditionally been regarded as a de facto maritime border.

Mr Biden is on record as saying he wants to improve US/China relations, but has showed no indicated that he will relax the pressure on trade, technology and human rights.

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Wang Yi China

Wang Yi, China's Foreign Minister, said Mr Biden was "playing with fire" (Image: GETTY)

Tsai Ing-wen

Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's democratically elected President (Image: GETTY)

Ketian Zhang, an Assistant Professor at George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government, underlined China’s hardline stance on the issue in an interview with Express.co.uk last year.

She said: "I would say the tension surrounding Taiwan has worsened since Trump took office, and the worsening of cross-strait relations is a gradual process.

"China does have a red line, which is that Taiwan should not declare de jure independence.

"If it does so, it is highly likely that China will resort to the use of force."

China military power

China's military power in numbers (Image: Express)

She added: “The Chinese Communist Party’s endgame is eventual unification, preferably peacefully.

"But if Taiwan declares de jure independence, China is highly likely to use force."

Also speaking last year, Derek Grossman, Senior Defence Analyst at the RAND Corporation specialising in China, told Express.co.uk: "China is increasingly threatening Taiwan with military force.”

Referring to the official visits, he said: “Tensions are certainly worsening, not only because of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s reelection in January 2020 (she does not recognise the '1992 Consensus' upholding 'One China'), but also because the Trump administration has sent senior level officials to the island in violation, from Beijing’s perspective, of Washington’s One China Policy.

Taiwan South China Sea

Taiwan and the South China Sea mapped (Image: Express)

"These visits are unacceptable for Beijing because they treat Taiwan as a sovereign nation, whereas China has traditionally viewed Taiwan as a renegade province of the mainland."

He added: "Going forward, I still assess the likelihood that China would seek to invade Taiwan as exceptionally low, but that probability has been ticking up these last few years.

"My main concern is that as US-China competition continues to ramp up and bilateral relations spiral to their lowest point perhaps ever, that Beijing will come to believe that Washington does, in fact, seek to use Taiwan to 'contain' China, and thus action is required to reverse the unfavourable trend.

"I certainly don’t think Xi wants war, and neither does Trump, but it will be increasingly difficult for China to sit on the sidelines as US-Taiwan relations reach new heights - primarily with the common goal of pushing back against China."

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2021-03-07 11:56:52Z
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