Asian Politics

[amadeus]

Koike Yuriko, Governor of Tokyo, is again trying to enter the national political scene again after her party, Tokyo First Association, is setting up a new party... First Association?

...aaaaaand it’s gone.

12 days after it was initially announced, First no Kai will not be fielding any candidates for the upcoming Diet election.

 

[amadeus]

Today is election day here in Japan! I'll be watching the results tonight (in about 12 hours time from this post)

Not a lot of time to post right now but Japan's Diet is broken up into 11 PR blocks of 176 seats total, 289 single-member first-past-the-post constituencies. The 11 regional blocks have a certain number of seats and seats are doled out by the winning parties, and sometimes there have been cases where an MP has lost their constituency but still won a Diet seat because the party appoints them to a PR block seat, which is kind of embarrassing.

I haven't done a lot of reading on it as of late but it seems conventional wisdom is that Kishida will remain as Prime Minister, but the LDP/Komei alliance is bound to lose some seats to the opposition, of which there are like 12 parties.

 

[amadeus]

As exit polling looks right now Kishida’s LDP will retain an outright majority, albeit slim. The biggest winner of the night looks to be Ishin no Kai, the party that started in Osaka and is generally categorized as conservative/right-wing populist. They’re estimated to go from around 10 seats in the House to 40, most of that seems to be cutting slim LDP’s seats.

Tokyo Broadcasting System/Japan News Network predicts:
(Parenthesis change from current House)

Coalition
LDP 239（-37）
Komeito 30（+1）

Other
CDP 115（+5）
JCP 12（+0）
Ishin 40（+29）
DPP 13（+5）
Reiwa 3（+2）
SDP 1（+0）
N-Koku 0（-1）
No affiliation 12 (0)

233 seats needed for majority

 

[amadeus]

As of 5:54 it looks like the final tallies are in. How good were yesterday’s predictions? It looks like the LDP lost fewer seats than initially projected and the CDP, the largest opposition party, lost seats rather than gained them.

Coalition
LDP 261（-15）
Komeito 32（+3）

Other
CDP 96（-14）
JCP 10（-2）
Ishin 41（+30）
DPP 11（+3）
Reiwa 3（+2）
SDP 1（0）
N-Koku 0（-1）
No affiliation 10 (-2)

A few thoughts—Reiwa Shinsengumi is kind of the Bernie Sanders’ faction of Japan, both left in politics and apparently (disproportionately!) loud on the internet.

Really surprised to see the CDP take such a dip. Suga falling on the sword and resigning was probably what saved the LDP’s majority... he was getting maybe 28-30% in approval, the “danger zone” for a PM taking his party into the election. Kishida is a fresher face, a little more charismatic and personable (I think) than Suga, who looks and talks like an old bureaucrat.

I’d like to see a map of both the single-member constituencies and the PR blocks but even though the info is in it looks like they haven’t been made up yet.

Edit: turnout was 55.93%, the third lowest since the end of the war.

 

[Broken_Erika]

Aung San Suu Kyi charged with election fraud by Myanmar junta
Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi is facing more charges, having been accused of "election fraud and lawless actions" by the military government.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59309528

 

[Ferocitus]

So the thread is now for Asia in general? Or should we keep non-sub things (Australia is in Oceania) in the Eastasia thread?

Singapore’s new ‘foreign interference’ law leaves journalists like me with an impossible puzzle
The Singapore government is now free to act on suspicions of foreign influence, and their targets will struggle to clear their names

Singapore’s parliament has passed a controversial anti-foreign interference bill, just three weeks after its first reading on 13 September.

Spoiler :

It was only to be expected that the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Bill, or Fica, would pass – the ruling People’s Action Party has had a supermajority in parliament for decades, allowing them to push whatever legislation they want through the House. But the concerns that activists, journalists, academics and legal practitioners had before the bill’s passage persist.

Justified by the government as urgently necessary for the protection of Singapore’s political sovereignty, Fica grants the government powers to issue directions requiring a range of actions – from removing or blocking access to online content, to mandating the publication of government notices, to banning apps from being downloadable in the country – so long as it suspects there might be foreign interference, and is of the opinion it’s in the public interest to act against it.

It can also appoint an authority to designate individuals and entities as “politically significant”. Once so designated, they will be required to submit regular reports relating to donations and foreign affiliations.

The law has been criticised for being overly broad. For instance, it’s scoped so widely that even collaboration with a foreign individual could be defined as activity conducted “on behalf of a foreign principal”.

In a country where civil liberties are already suppressed and civil society actors already feel like we have to navigate a maze of vague laws and potential defamation suits, the introduction of one more piece of legislation makes the environment feel like one in which it is increasingly impossible to dissent and advocate for human rights safely.

In his parliamentary speech, minister for home affairs and law K Shanmugam explained the expansive language in Fica was necessary, since foreign meddlers often hide behind legitimate facades. “So, the language has got to be broad enough to cover that – that what is apparently normal but is actually not normal,” he said.

But who gets to decide that something is “actually not normal”? This is the question that lies at the heart of the problems with Fica.

While granting the government maximum discretion to take action against whatever they deem to be foreign interference, Fica provides very little independent oversight, and leaves targeted individuals or entities very few options to challenge measures imposed upon them. Appeals can only go to a reviewing tribunal – to be appointed by the government – or to the minister for home affairs himself. Their decisions are final. Judicial review is explicitly limited only to procedural matters.

Essentially, the government is free to act on suspicions or accusations of foreign influence, and their targets will not only struggle to clear their names, but can also be slapped with directions that will restrict their rights to freedom of expression and association.

I got a taste of what this might be like while watching the parliamentary debates. Partway through his speech, Shanmugam named myself and a former colleague as “chief” among those who had started a disinformation campaign about Fica. He accused us of directly inviting foreign intervention into Singapore’s domestic affairs, and used the fact the media outlet we’d co-founded had received funding from the Open Society Foundation (founded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros) to claim we opposed the law simply because we have a vested interest in receiving foreign money.

These are old claims the ruling party and its supporters have made against us over the years. We’ve responded to them multiple times, pointing out again and again that the suggestion we support foreign intervention in Singapore is baseless. When Shanmugam, covered by parliamentary privilege, made his accusations on Monday, it was clear they have unilaterally decided our normal activities are “actually not normal”. And Fica will grant them the legal teeth to act on assumptions.

The government has argued Singaporeans have nothing to worry about; as long as they aren’t local proxies of foreign actors, they won’t feel the effects of Fica. But this is hardly reassuring when it is the government who, enabled by the broad definitions of the law and the lack of judicial oversight, can determine whether you are a local proxy.

Fervent efforts to advocate for a delay in Fica’s passage came to naught, as they were always doomed to be. Now, activists and independent journalists can only struggle with an impossible puzzle: figuring out how to balance achieving impact, while remaining “politically insignificant” enough to escape the government’s Fica-empowered gaze.

• Kirsten Han is a freelance journalist who runs the newsletter We, The Citizens, covering Singapore from a rights-based perspective.

TL;DR: Typical Tak post: China man bad. Murdoch man good.

 

[Ferocitus]

Wow, I've just got over the excitement of the US-China Summit of the Century!

President Biden really slammed Red China baddie Xi over the CCP's treatment of Hong Kong when he told him:
"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz."

Biden then (figuratively) punched Xi between the eyes over the genocide of 89 billion Uyghurs, whispering:
"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz."

Spinning around like a kungfu master, Biden then gave Xi a crippling kick in the fork over the Taiwan question by
re-asserting US support of the One China Policy, which recognises only one Chinese government.

 

[Ferocitus]

Megalomaniac mumbler and so-called artist Ai Weiwei annoyed and upset Margaret Hoover, the host of PBS
show Firing Line during an interview on Saturday.

M.H.: And then you write - this is your quote - So do you see Donald Trump as an authoritarian?

A.W.: I - Well, I don’t - You know, he - If you are authoritarian, you have to have a system supporting
you. You cannot just be an authoritarian by yourself.
But certainly, in the United States, with today’s condition, you can easily have an authoritarian. In
many ways, you’re already in the authoritarian state. You just don’t know it.

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/firing-line/video/ai-weiwei-1lcijj/

The audience melted down in what could end up as the sequel to The China Syndrome.

 

[Broken_Erika]

India PM Narendra Modi repeals controversial farm laws
Indian PM Narendra Modi has announced the repeal of three controversial farm laws after a year of protests.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-59342627

 

[Ferocitus]

Terror & tourism: Xinjiang eases its grip, but fear remains.
The barbed wire is almost gone. So are the armored personnel carriers. Young Uyghur men are back on
the streets. Beijing is slackening its grip on Xinjiang after a brutal mass detention campaign, but
fear remains pervasive.
https://apnews.com/article/coronavi...ealth-travel-7a6967f335f97ca868cc618ea84b98b9

Fear? You bet!
China just discovered necromancy, re-animated 5 barillion dead Uyghurs, and then released them from
a bazillion concentration camps to have funsies on the streets of Urumqi and Kashgar.

 

[amadeus]

Pretty insightful video. I guess everything we hear is wrong. I mean, y’know, if he had been accompanied by state news media during his entire journey that might poke some holes in his facade.

 

[E.man]

So the thread is now for Asia in general? Or should we keep non-sub things (Australia is in Oceania) in the Eastasia thread?

Singapore’s new ‘foreign interference’ law leaves journalists like me with an impossible puzzle
The Singapore government is now free to act on suspicions of foreign influence, and their targets will struggle to clear their names

Singapore’s parliament has passed a controversial anti-foreign interference bill, just three weeks after its first reading on 13 September.

Spoiler :

It was only to be expected that the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Bill, or Fica, would pass – the ruling People’s Action Party has had a supermajority in parliament for decades, allowing them to push whatever legislation they want through the House. But the concerns that activists, journalists, academics and legal practitioners had before the bill’s passage persist.

Justified by the government as urgently necessary for the protection of Singapore’s political sovereignty, Fica grants the government powers to issue directions requiring a range of actions – from removing or blocking access to online content, to mandating the publication of government notices, to banning apps from being downloadable in the country – so long as it suspects there might be foreign interference, and is of the opinion it’s in the public interest to act against it.

It can also appoint an authority to designate individuals and entities as “politically significant”. Once so designated, they will be required to submit regular reports relating to donations and foreign affiliations.

The law has been criticised for being overly broad. For instance, it’s scoped so widely that even collaboration with a foreign individual could be defined as activity conducted “on behalf of a foreign principal”.

In a country where civil liberties are already suppressed and civil society actors already feel like we have to navigate a maze of vague laws and potential defamation suits, the introduction of one more piece of legislation makes the environment feel like one in which it is increasingly impossible to dissent and advocate for human rights safely.

In his parliamentary speech, minister for home affairs and law K Shanmugam explained the expansive language in Fica was necessary, since foreign meddlers often hide behind legitimate facades. “So, the language has got to be broad enough to cover that – that what is apparently normal but is actually not normal,” he said.

But who gets to decide that something is “actually not normal”? This is the question that lies at the heart of the problems with Fica.

While granting the government maximum discretion to take action against whatever they deem to be foreign interference, Fica provides very little independent oversight, and leaves targeted individuals or entities very few options to challenge measures imposed upon them. Appeals can only go to a reviewing tribunal – to be appointed by the government – or to the minister for home affairs himself. Their decisions are final. Judicial review is explicitly limited only to procedural matters.

Essentially, the government is free to act on suspicions or accusations of foreign influence, and their targets will not only struggle to clear their names, but can also be slapped with directions that will restrict their rights to freedom of expression and association.

I got a taste of what this might be like while watching the parliamentary debates. Partway through his speech, Shanmugam named myself and a former colleague as “chief” among those who had started a disinformation campaign about Fica. He accused us of directly inviting foreign intervention into Singapore’s domestic affairs, and used the fact the media outlet we’d co-founded had received funding from the Open Society Foundation (founded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros) to claim we opposed the law simply because we have a vested interest in receiving foreign money.

These are old claims the ruling party and its supporters have made against us over the years. We’ve responded to them multiple times, pointing out again and again that the suggestion we support foreign intervention in Singapore is baseless. When Shanmugam, covered by parliamentary privilege, made his accusations on Monday, it was clear they have unilaterally decided our normal activities are “actually not normal”. And Fica will grant them the legal teeth to act on assumptions.

The government has argued Singaporeans have nothing to worry about; as long as they aren’t local proxies of foreign actors, they won’t feel the effects of Fica. But this is hardly reassuring when it is the government who, enabled by the broad definitions of the law and the lack of judicial oversight, can determine whether you are a local proxy.

Fervent efforts to advocate for a delay in Fica’s passage came to naught, as they were always doomed to be. Now, activists and independent journalists can only struggle with an impossible puzzle: figuring out how to balance achieving impact, while remaining “politically insignificant” enough to escape the government’s Fica-empowered gaze.

• Kirsten Han is a freelance journalist who runs the newsletter We, The Citizens, covering Singapore from a rights-based perspective.

Is there an Aussie/Oceania politics thread here somewhere?

Solomon islands in flames because govt changes China policy.

 

[Ferocitus]

The most remarkable aspect of Western attacks on China over Xinjiang is the unabashed hypocrisy
Nov 23, 2021
...
AP admits peace has returned to Xinjiang, but it claims ”fear in the eyes of the people’’ shows
oppression of Uyghurs continues.
https://johnmenadue.com/most-remark...-attacks-on-china-is-the-unabashed-hypocrisy/

LOL. AP "journalists" have amazing special powers!
The Swiss guy who filmed this uncut walk through Kashgar doesn't have those special powers, but the reaction
of Uyghurs to the police is plain to for all see.
Xinjiang Genocide Watch (Kashgar uncut)

 

[Ferocitus]

Oh no, some people in Thailand are angry with Amnesty International!

Thailand probes Amnesty International after ultra-royalist complaint
BANGKOK (REUTERS) - Thailand is investigating whether Amnesty International has broken any laws, its prime minister said on Friday (Nov 26), after ultra-royalists called for the human rights group to be expelled for its support of activists facing prosecution.

An ultra-royalist group sent a letter to the government on Thursday saying Amnesty's campaigns to bring an end to criminal charges against protesters calling for reforms of the monarchy had undermined national security.

More than 1,600 activists are now facing security-related charges, including at least 160 people charged under Thailand's strict laws against insulting the monarchy, which carry a potential prison term of up to 15 years.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/s...utm_medium=social-organic&utm_keyword=dlvr.it

 

[Gelion]

Talking about difference of approach:

Two Chinese companies have finalised 15 contracts to build 1,000 schools across Iraq, MENAFN and other media report.

The deals were signed yesterday at a ceremony attended by Li Daze, vice president of the Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina), Koo Jun, regional director of Sinotech, and Karar Muhammad, director of the Iraqi government’s Supreme Committee for School Construction.
PowerChina will build 679 of the schools and Sinotech the remaining 321.

The deal is the first tranche of a wider agreement, reached last November between Iraq and China, to build 7,000 schools. According to that memorandum of understanding, they will be model facilities, “modern in style and in accordance with the actual and practical needs of the Iraqi environment”, reports Iraq Business News.

https://www.globalconstructionreview.com/china-signs-deal-to-build-1000-model-schools-in-iraq/

 

[Ferocitus]

Shock news - the East exists!
To celebrate 50 years of the normalization of relations between China and Japan there are two
major exhibitions of each country's great art treasures - one in Kyoto and another in Beijing.
My favourite:

 

[Ferocitus]

So the much publicized Chinese debt trap isn't. Good of them to admit it.

BBC Radio 4, 1 December 2021
In an item about Chinese ‘debt trap’ diplomacy we interviewed Professor Deborah Brautigan, who explained that this ‘is the idea that China is deliberately luring countries into borrowing more money than they can afford with the goal of using that debt for strategic leverage, to seize assets of some kind or otherwise push the country to do China’s bidding.’ She went on to give an example of the Sri Lankan port of Hambantota, saying it was used by the Trump administration to promote this theory.

However Professor Brautigan’s further point, that these ideas have little basis in fact, was edited out of the broadcast interview. In fact Professor Brautigan’s research shows that Chinese banks are willing to restructure the terms of existing loans and have never actually seized an asset from any country, much less the port of Hambantota.

We apologise for the error.

7/02/2022