Video: 讓你閉嘴聽不見？中國國防部1小時內對美國警告3次：玩火者必自焚！ China told US to shut up and listen. Chinese Department of Defense warned the United States three times within one hour: If you play with fire, you must set yourself on fire!
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Online petition for Fort Detrick probe draws 20 millions signatures; China urges US to open UNC lab, disclose military games patients by GT staff reporters Jul 30 2021

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday urged the US to take four steps on COVID-19 origins tracing if it wants to show transparency, including disclosing data on early COVID-19 cases, inviting the World Health Organization (WHO) to probe Fort Detrick and the University of North Carolina, and publishing data on sick soldiers who attended the Wuhan Military World Games, amid mounting calls from China and the international community to investigate the US on COVID-19 origins and growing outrage on the Biden administration’s political maneuver which severely hampered the global virus tracing task.

Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, made the recommendations for Washington at Friday’s media briefing. He said that in order to shift responsibility from its failed COVID-19 response and achieve its political goal of smearing other countries, the US has politicized the pandemic, stigmatized the virus, and turned the COVID-19 origins tracing into a tool, and it has taken lying, discrediting and coercion as its means while showing no respect to science and justice.

“You cannot whitewash yourself by smearing others. If the US truly wants to be transparent and responsible, please start with the four things,” Zhao said.

Zhao’s recommendations were made Friday, as an online petition urging the WHO to investigate the Fort Detrick lab has gained more than 20 million signatures by early Saturday morning.

A group of Chinese netizens drafted the petition and entrusted the Global Times to post the petition on WeChat and Weibo on July 17 to solicit public response. This week, the petition also opened channels for overseas participants.

Prior to Zhao’s four recommendations to the US, several US senators proposed three steps for the US to do on virus origins, and Chinese experts said the two formed a sharp contrast as China offered an advice based on a scientific perspective, and the US clearly weaponized the issue for political purposes of containing China.

Several US senators including Marco Rubio and Bob Menendez sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Wednesday asking the administration to take three steps on COVID-19 origins – directing the intelligence community to continue investigating, working with allies and partners to “use all available resources and tools” to pressure Beijing into permitting an investigation in China, and completing a thorough review of existing and prior US government support or funding for research collaboration with China.

Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times that the US senators’ three steps clearly reflected that the US manipulated the virus origins issue to smear China’s achievement in epidemic control and China’s international status and image so that China’s rapid development would not affect the US’ world leadership in the post-pandemic era.

But no matter how the US tried to manipulate the issue and shift the blame to China, it cannot hide the fact that the US is the biggest loser in the pandemic response, Li said.

Vitality of national security law for Hong Kong lies in its implementation: Global Times editorial by Global Times Jul 30 2021

The High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) announced on Friday that Leon Tong Ying-kit had been sentenced to nine years in prison due to separatism and terrorist activities. Tong is the first person convicted under the national security law for Hong Kong. The trial results show that the national security law is effective. No matter how unscrupulous the offenders have been, justice will never be absent.

On July 1, 2020, Tong rode a motorcycle in Wan Chai, Hong Kong, with a flag advocating “Hong Kong independence.” He ran through three police checkpoints and caused serious physical injuries to three police officers. In the verdict on Tuesday, the judge said displaying the flag would have incited others to engage in secessionist acts. By crashing into the police officers, Tong was deliberately challenging the police who represent the rule of law in Hong Kong. His behavior involved serious violence and dangerous activities that seriously endangered public safety and caused serious harm to society. His behavior was intended to intimidate the public in order to achieve political goals.

Hong Kong public opinion believed that the three judges designated by the national security law for Hong Kong made very convincing judgments, established the legal principles of national security law trials, clarified the so-called “fuzzy” fields, and have high guiding significance for the court’s future trials of similar cases.

We should ensure that laws are put in place, observed, and strictly enforced and that anyone who violates the law is held accountable. This is called the rule of law. Analyzing Tong’s case should not deviate from the rule of law, no matter from which point of view. But some Western forces who cannot wait to show their anti-China stance do not even bother hiding behind the guise of the rule of law. They desperately claim that violent terrorism and attacks against police are not guilty acts. They even spread rumors before the verdict, claiming that Tong will face the maximum sentence of life imprisonment. They vainly tried to use deception to reverse black and white, exposing their true face of contempt for justice. After all, they are unwilling to see the end of Hong Kong’s lack of safeguarding for national security. They also hate to see their failure in trying to instigate a “color revolution” in Hong Kong.

Terrorism is terrorism. Acts that exceed the bottom line of human civilization cannot be condoned anywhere in the world. This is a major issue of right and wrong. In 2017, Terrence J. McNeil, an American who publicly mourned Osama Bin Laden, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for counts including solicitation of a crime of violence and making threatening interstate communications.

The Terrorism Act 2006 of the UK stipulated that “glorification” of terror carries a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment. Hong Kong punishing criminals that disturb and endanger public order of the city according to the law is a just action. Some Western forces stand against justice and make noises to interfere in Hong Kong-related affairs, toward which righteous people will only show contempt.

The power of the national security law for Hong Kong lies in its enforcement. The prosperous life of Hong Kong people and the economic vitality of the city as an international financial hub have fully demonstrated that this law will ensure Hong Kong’s security, stability and peace. People are yearning for stability and development, which is the reality of today’s Hong Kong.

Some forces in the West regard the national security law for Hong Kong as unjust because they don’t want the city to have a “patron saint” that can protect its governance and development. They even disregard the interests of the 1,300 American companies that operate in Hong Kong and are determined to sabotage Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability. They smear anything that is conducive to Hong Kong’s long-term peace and development. They also issue warnings and impose sanctions, which seriously violates international law and basic norms of international relations.

But Chinese people have never been and will never be intimidated by pressure and coercion. We will firmly hit back against Western bullying. The Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, which took effect in June, has already played its role. The Chinese side has taken reciprocal sanctions against unreasonable US sanctions based on this law, fully demonstrating China’s attitude.

The combined power of the national security law for Hong Kong and the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law will provide firm and strong protection for the interests of Hong Kong people, who deserve a better future together with the country.

Video: China Teaches The US To Treat Other Countries Equally. 中國教美國如何平等對待其他國家.

Many people like China’s spokesman, Zhao Lijian, for his explicit remarks. We think Qin Gang is a pro version of Zhao Lijian. As the new ambassador to the US, Mister Qin Gang is not a wolf warrior. Instead, he is a Kongfu Panda, lovely and strong. We hope his mission to the US will be a turning point in the relationship between the two superpowers.
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Chinese American Association of Commerce medical equipment donation to China last years was visited by Chinese President Xi Jinping on March 2nd. 3月2日，中國國家主席習近平到訪美國華商總會會去年我們向中國捐贈的醫療設備.

New York Times BREAKING NEWS: A Hong Kong rioter and terrorist was sentenced to nine years in prison in the first trial under the tough national security law against subversive activities supported by NED/CIA. The sentence highlights the power of the law similar to those in the US 紐約時報突發新聞：一名香港暴徒和恐怖分子在第一次審判中被判處九年徒刑，根據嚴厲的國家安全法，以打擊美國民主基金會和美國中情局支持在香港的顛覆活動。 這也突出了與美國相似的國安法律的力量. Friday, July 30, 2021 3:19 AM EST

Video: ‘List of US Wrongdoings That Must Stop’ Unveiled! China urges US to change its dangerous policy. 美國必須停止的錯誤行為清單”出爐！中國敦促美國改變其危險政策. China has made clear its stances of opposing the United States to interfere in China’s internal affairs and to harm China’s interests on the bilateral relations during the talks with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, said Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng on Monday in Tianjin.
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Bevin Chu: US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is lucky. Future US diplomats may be required to kowtow if they wish to meet with Chinese officials. 美國副國務卿溫迪謝爾曼是幸運的。 未來的美國外交官如果希望與中國官員會面，可能需要磕頭.

NB: For those few who don’t recognize a joke when they see one, this was merely a joke. But again, even though it is a joke, no one can say never say never. 對於那些看到笑話不認識的少數人來說，這只是一個笑話。 但再說一次，即使這是一個笑話，也沒有人可以肯定地說永遠不會發生.

Political connected company will get most of the infrastructure contracts with a portion of the money kicked back to elected officials at the City, State and Federal levels through legalized corruption. It will be mirrored behind how infrastructure projects being handled in Hawaii and California, expect 300% cost overruns and 3x exceeding projected completion date. 與政治有關的公司將獲得大部分合同，其中一部分資金通過合法化腐敗返還給市、州和聯邦各級民選官員。 它將反映在夏威夷和加利福尼亞處理基礎設施項目的方式，預計成本超支 300%，超出預計完工日期 3 倍.

New York Times: A bipartisan group of senators spoke after a procedural vote on their infrastructure agreement on Wednesday. by T.J. Kirkpatrick for The New York Times

Happy Infrastructure Week!

What became a punchline among political reporters during the Trump administration — when many a week was called “infrastructure week” by the White House, which was rhetorically committed to funding roads and bridges out of the federal purse — moved a step closer to reality yesterday, when the Senate voted to take up a $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

What exactly is and isn’t in the infrastructure bill? The Upshot has you covered.

But also important are the terms under which it was hashed out and by which it will pass into law, if it does pass into law. For this bill is bipartisan, shaped by a core gang of senators, five Democrats and five Republicans, who were backed by six more Republican senators as well as by the Biden White House. Not for nothing is it known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework.

Yesterday’s vote over whether to proceed to debating the bill had the support of two-thirds of the Senate: all 50 Democrats and independents, plus 17 Republicans — including Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, who has famously said his goal was to deny President Biden and, before him, President Barack Obama any significant legislative victories.

The House of Representatives, where Democrats hold a slim majority, still must go along with it. A separate, decidedly partisan $3.5 trillion Democratic spending bill looms as a complication. But all in all, the infrastructure plan has come further than many had expected. Here is what political scientists who study legislative compromise (and the lack thereof) have to tell us about how this happened.

Wang Yi: We bear responsibility to teach U.S. to treat others equally. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China and the international community as a whole bear the responsibility to teach the U.S. a lesson if it hasn’t learned to treat other countries equally. 王毅：我們有責任教美國平等對待他人. 中國國務委員兼外長王毅表示，如果美國沒有學會平等對待其他國家，中國和整個國際社會都有責任給美國一個教訓.

Stop interfering in China’s internal affairs. The Chinese don’t buy this crabs from US. US is not qualified to speak condescendingly to the Chinese. 停止干涉中國內政. 中國人不吃這一套. 美國沒有資格居高臨下和中國人說話.

US-China relations: Beijing lays down red lines for first time in Sherman meeting by Sarah Zheng 25 July 2021

China has for the first time given the US a list of red lines and remedial action it must take to repair relations, including lifting sanctions and dropping its extradition request for Huawei financial chief Meng Wanzhou.

Chinese foreign vice-minister Xie Feng told US deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman on Monday morning that US-China relations had reached a “stalemate” and faced “serious consequences”, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.

“The foundational reason is that some people in the US are treating China as an ‘imagined enemy’,” it quoted Xie as saying.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

After the meeting, Xie said China gave two lists to the US – one with one remedial action for Washington to take towards China, and the other a series of Beijing’s key concerns.

Items on the remedial list include lifting the visa restrictions on Communist Party members, their families, and Chinese students; lifting the sanctions imposed on Chinese leaders, government officials and agencies; removing restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese companies; cancelling rulings determining Chinese media as foreign agents; and dropping its request to extradite Meng from Canada.

China promises US a ‘tutorial’ in treating countries equally

Items on the list of concerns include addressing unfair treatment of Chinese citizens in the United States, harassment of the Chinese embassy and its consulates, the rise of anti-Asian and anti-Chinese sentiment, and violence against Chinese citizens.

Xie said the Chinese side also “expressed its strong dissatisfaction towards the wrong remarks and actions of the US” in relation to investigations into the origins of Covid-19, Taiwan, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and the South China Sea.

“We urge the United States not to underestimate the strong determination, firm will and strong ability of the 1.4 billion Chinese people to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests,” state news agency Xinhua quoted him as saying.

Before the meeting on Monday, both sides were wrangling for the upper hand, with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi saying China would give the US a “tutorial” on how to treat other nations equally. A senior US official said Sherman would engage China from a position of “strength and solidarity”.

Sherman is expected to meet Wang in Tianjin, an hour from the capital Beijing, on Monday afternoon.

Xie also slammed the US government for engaging in “all-encompassing containment of China” to restrict the country’s development and to continue US hegemony.

He said some had sought to demonise China to distract from domestic problems in the US, likening the conflict between the two countries to the “Pearl Harbour moment” or the “Sputnik moment” – turning points for the US against Japan in World War II and the Soviet Union in the Cold War.

“The US side talks about China at every turn, and it seems as if it is unable to speak or do anything if it does not involve China,” he was quoted as saying. “We urge the US side to change its incorrect thinking and very dangerous policy towards China.”

Xie added that China was willing to engage the US as equals and to “seek common ground while reserving differences” and he urged the US to choose the path of “mutual respect, fair competition, and peaceful coexistence”.

The meeting follows Sherman’s trip last week to Japan, South Korea and Mongolia, where she sought to highlight Washington’s commitment to its partners in the region to “advance a free and open Indo-Pacific, and uphold and strengthen the rules-based international order”.

What Wendy Sherman’s China visit tells foreign investors in Hong Kong.

The Tianjin stop was originally left off her itinerary while China and the US were negotiating the details. Sherman was originally seeking a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s inner circle.

Expectations are not high for any breakthrough developments, but observers say that dialogue itself is critical, as tensions have continued to intensify since the acrimonious meeting in March between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China’s most senior foreign policy official Yang Jiechi.

The meeting also comes on the heels of the US and its allies – including the European Union, Australia, Britain, New Zealand and Japan – warning China about its “malicious cyber activities”, as well as US sanctions on Hong Kong officials and reciprocal Chinese sanctions.

US officials have said they hope Sherman’s meetings in Tianjin will yield “frank and open discussion”, including progress towards “guardrails and parameters” to prevent sustained competition between the powers from turning into conflict.

There will be a focus on imposing costs for certain Chinese behaviours – including on issues involving Xinjiang and forced labour claims there – as well as areas for cooperation, such as on climate change , they said.