My latest: #China launched a fresh round of diplomatic outreach to Southeast Asia this week, as Chinese leader Xi Jinping met Indonesian President-elect Prabowo and foreign ministers from Laos, Vietnam and Timor-Leste visited #Beijing .
voanews.com/a/china-launch…

#Indonesian #scholars fear self-censorship under #Prabowo who has blasted them in recent months over their criticism of him.

Thread
asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Indon… via Nikkei Asia

So sad to see that #HongKong 's once world-ranking academia is now placed below #Congo , #Sudan , and #Venezuela .

(Meanwhile #China is in the bottom 10% for worldwide academic freedom)

hongkongfp.com/2024/04/05/hon…

Scandalous, given #China law enf complicity in #humanrights abuses, incl in #Australia , of ⁦Vicky Xu / 許秀中⁩ : “A Chinese government press release distributed after the meeting promised: ‘A new chapter in law enforcement cooperation between 🇨🇳 & 🇦🇺.’” thesaturdaypaper.com.au/comment/topic/…

Panel on the Indo-Pacific is live!
Featuring Kelley Currie, Johanna Kao🇭🇰, and The Wilson Center fellow Kotaro Shiojiri 📷🇯🇵 Moderated by Former @EXIMBankUS
President Kimberly Reed.

Watch now: bit.ly/42SSdcu

Fantastic day 1 of this Atlantic Council conference! Engaging afternoon panels featuring Joshua Eisenman / 马佳士 🇺🇦🎗️ Joseph Asunka bulelani jili Christopher Walker Johanna Kao Victoria Chonn-Ching Margaret Myers Pepe Zhang Sarah Cook Kenton Thibaut emeka umejei and more! atlanticcouncil.org/event/china-in…

While China’s influence and involvement in Myanmar is increasing, the Chinese mediated ceasefire is limited to securing Chinese interests, and unlikely to hold without significant enforcement: straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia…

So fun to watch our International Republican Institute #Mongolia team in action, here facilitating a panel with the Election Commission. Lots of Q’s about revisions to election law & implications ahead of national elections later this year

I'm attending! Excited to be speaking at #NSGSCon tomorrow, part of an incredible line up of topics & speakers

As a military-made crisis guts Myanmar's formal economy, more investment and jobs are shifting to rapacious natural resource extraction and illicit trade.

Difficult, but vital, to break the vicious cycle of dictatorship, militarism and illegal enterprise.
frontiermyanmar.net/en/poisoned-ea…

The 91-year-old Cardinal Zen attended #JimmyLai ’s trial today. What a symbol of true strength and fearlessness in the face of oppression. #FreeJimmyLai

This is baffling. The State Department should quickly issue a statement clarifying its position on this. How the heck did this get approved?

Condemning #AgnesChow 's public announcement for not returning to #HongKong to extend her bail is sth expected from the SAR regime. Still, the hawkish language used in their press release shows that the city has lost its decency from the top.

What a joy to celebrate my friend Ambassador Karlito Nunes 🇹🇱🇺🇳 for his many incredible contributions to International Republican Institute #TimorLeste programs, & to hear his insights on his country’s democratic progress

In moderating this panel on press freedom in Hong Kong, I learned so much and was so inspired by Johanna Kao Simon Lee | 利世民 and Yaqiu Wang 王亚秋 as well as Frances Hui 許穎婷 and Yuhki Tajima @[email protected] - thank you all so much! #香港人加油

🚨 The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, We The Hongkongers, Hongkonger Community Center and Asian Studies at Georgetown University held a successful event yesterday at Georgetown University. The event featured an inspiring discussion about press freedom in #HongKong by Johanna Kao, Simon Lee | 利世民, Yaqiu Wang 王亚秋 and Emily Matson, PhD

BREAKING: Foreign Investment in China Goes Negative for the First Time in Decades

“These capital outflows reflect collapsing corporate confidence in China’s state-led economic model under the leadership of President Xi Jinping.” axios.com/2023/11/07/chi…

China ‘world’s biggest debt collector’ as poorer nations struggle with its loans theguardian.com/world/2023/nov…

So you can pay $2000 to wine and dine with Xi Jinping, architect of 'crimes against humanity' against the Uyghurs, the destruction of Hong Kong's free society, the deepening repression across China. Yup, the 1% in the US and China share a lot in common:

DMs open for Xi’s itinerary next week. Pro-Beijing voices should not be able to dominate the tone of the week.