Philippines says China fired flares at its South China Sea plane
Two Spanish military plane flew into its airspace on August 22 over Subi Reef, which Manila even claims, according to the country’s foreign government on Friday. According to a statement, the Chinese government took “necessary measures in accordance with the law, in order to protect its own independence and security.”Continue Reading
14 million speed pills seized in Chiang Mai
Two cars and two suspected medicine riders were likewise seized.
PUBLISHED: 24 Aug 2024 at 14: 25
Late on Friday nights, security personnel in Chiang Dao city of Chiang Mai seized 14 million rate pills and detained two drug couriers.
A delivery truck and a vehicle were seen by a combined group of police and soldiers traveling west through the Muang Ngai crossing in Chiang Dao.
The officers in Tambon Mae Na stopped the cars while conducting a research behind the Kadmuang Piangdao business. They found some compost sacks containing drugs hidden in the sleep of the delivery, Gen Narit Thawornwong, captain of the medication destruction unit, said on Saturday.
Thitiphong Kanin, 45, and Pradit Khaomun, 42, both native of Chiang Dao, were arrested and 14 million rate medications seized, said Gen Narit. The two cars were likewise seized.
The two gentlemen were turned over to third division of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau for legal actions.
The medicines had been smuggled from a northern frontier place in Chiang Dao, according to a police investigation, and they had been going to the country’s interior regions.
Drink driving accidents up, more deaths in first half of 2024
ELDERLY PEDESTRIANS AND MOTORCYCLISTS ,
Accidents involving older pedestrians decreased by 22.1 percent, from 122 in the first third of 2023 to 95 in the same time this yr.
And there was a slight increase of 3.3 % in the number of motorcyclist-related injuries.
These two groups continue to be a “key problem,” according to the police, because they account for a significant amount of accidents that result in injuries or fatalities.  ,
Yet though fewer , older pedestrians died in injuries in the first quarter of 2024, this group also made up 42.9 per share of pedestrian casualties. Around 41 % of all pedestrian fatalities involving older people were caused by trespassing.
The authorities urged family and friends to remind the elderly no to walks, as well as continue to do so in its efforts to educate the old.  ,
In comparison to the 1, 841 accidents in the same period last year, the number of motorcyclist-related accidents increased by 3.3 % to 1, 902 in the first half of 2024.
From 2,050 in the first quarter of 2023 to 2, 159 in the first quarter of 2024, drivers and scooter riders who were hurt in accidents increased by 5.3 %.
In the first quarter of 2024, motorcyclists and scooter riders were responsible for 61.6 percent of all traffic fatalities and 54.5 percent of all traffic accidents.
Made in Korea: British boy band hopefuls face K-pop’s brutal regime – Asia Times
Five young son group members from the UK, a home in Seoul’s common Itaewon district, and training at one of Korea’s leading K-pop talent agencies – this is the recipe offered up by Made in Korea: The K-Pop experience, a fresh BBC reality show.
The present charts a group of 19 to 23-year-old young men’s trip through a rigorous, 100-day training regimen that led to their circle debut as Dear Alice.
Made in Korea taps into the international attention in K-pop and interest about the business concept that has produced a number of highly-skilled, beautiful acts like BTS, Blackpink, Seventeen, and Half.
The results speak for themselves. Although Taylor Swift may have been the top-selling performer in the world in 2023, four of the ten best-selling Asian works worldwide were, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Market.
The best South Korean K-pop music companies are known for their comprehensive training programs that have occasionally been criticized for exploiting talent. Disillusioned performers have complained of contracts that do n’t treat their careers fairly and responsibly and that they are overworked, underpaid, abused, and unprotected.
The censure of these practices has resulted in some labor wages and improvements in working conditions for performers. But, as members of the world-famous lady group Blackpink and others have testified, the training needed to reach the heights of business success is still very labor intensive and time-consuming for performers.
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A’ special’ experiment
Despite claiming to be a “unique test” with its European account, Made in Korea is not the first day non-Korean hopefuls have faced the K-pop teaching device. A number of non-Koreans make up some of K-pop’s most famous functions, including Blackpink, which features a Thai part, and Seventeen, which has people from China and the US.
Their participation is a part of a plan to support K-pop groups ‘ international travels by allowing them to communicate with overseas fans in different languages.
Netflix really released Pop Star Academy – KATSEYE in a study that is comparable to Made in Korea. The film follows a collaboration between the US brand Geffen Records and HYBE, a top Asian talent agency and the creator of BTS, as they work to form a girl group made up of women from various nations.
SM Entertainment is the Asian talent company that partnered with the European directors of Dear Alice. One of several leading firms in South Korea, they have been generating chart-topping works since the mid-1990s. Like its rivals HYBE, YG and BigHit Entertainment, SM is a one-stop shop that takes skills from casting, to education, production and management.
With an “unwavering commitment to excellence” such organizations hire and manage simply the best. By releasing songs in English to enhance mobility for English-speaking fans, who make up a large portion of K-pop’s 200 million-strong world following, they have been quick to adapt and encourage the charm of their acts across borders.
By claiming that it is committed to” setting the gold standard for accountable management in the industry,” SM Entertainment’s website makes a simple smile to past criticism of the company’s procedures. This does not mean a soft approach to raising chart-topping talent, however.
The secret to success
Episode one of Made in Korea sees the five boys face “evaluation” after a testing first week of training by SM Entertainment’s formidable Hee Jun Yoon, known for her no-holds-barred criticism.
After watching the group’s first performance, during which the choreography is poorly synchronized and the singing far from pitch-perfect, Yoon tells them:” You do n’t know the tough situation you are in now”.
She threatens to watch any additional performances until they are significant improvements. Thoroughly demoralized, the five members come away from the experience, having glimpsed the harsh reality of what it takes to succeed in the K-pop industry.
The negative feedback is unsurprising. A Blackpink documentary that was released on Netflix in 2020 gives the impression that those who survive must have an extraordinary level of mental resilience, perhaps above and beyond their vocal prowess and ability to learn choreography.
To succeed in this field requires pushing yourself to limits that are not apparent to most people. In addition to this, it also requires performers to avoid any behavior that might generate a reputation-destroying scandal.
Fans of other international artists are generally accepting of the frequently relatable imperfections that Western performers exhibit in their daily lives, and Taylor Swift fans are unfazed by the news of the singer’s turbulent love life.
However, K-Pop artists must keep their records in good order. They are rarely if ever,  , permitted to date publicly , or engage in unsavory behavior, which can include even minor misdemeanors such as , vaping indoors.
For years, BTS has remained relatively scandal-free. But in August, one member, Suga, fell off his e-scooter in Seoul and failed a breathalyzer test, incurring , drink-driving charges. In the hope that the group can rebuild public trust, the incident has caused significant waves and prompted a public apology.
If Dear Alice is successful in both training and evaluation, it’s not clear whether they will be subject to the same moral and behavioral standards as groups made up of mostly Korean members.
However, if SM Entertainment is to put its name to the management of the company, it is unquestionable that these five young men will need to learn to bounce back from harsh criticism and show a willingness to learn and advance to a level above what they have previously achieved.
Sarah A Son is senior lecturer in Korean Studies, University of Sheffield
This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
‘Find your own path’: PM Wong shares his dream for Singapore youth, encourages more to contribute to society
Singaporean youth should not feel pressured to take certain paths in their lives, according to Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Saturday ( Aug 24 ).
” My desire for all of you is… for you to get your own way. Do n’t feel like you have to conform”, he said at the inaugural Youth Policy Forum, which around 1, 000 youths participated in.  ,
” Excel, try and be the best that you can be in whatever you choose”, said Mr Wong, who is also Finance Minister. ” If you have that perspective, if you have that attitude, the govt will want to help you in whatever you are doing”.
The government wants to help young people develop and grow to be the best types of themselves, whether that remain in art, sports, study or enterprise, he said.
We want to encourage everyone to fight their rainbows, and we will praise you on every step of the way, he said.
Young people must also be able to put in the effort and contribute to society so that nothing can collapse into their lap.
” There may even be falls and failures along the way, but accept all of that – the losses, the problems. That just makes you stronger if you embraced it with all your might,” said Mr. Wong.
In the process of chasing their goals and realising their whole possible, but, the Prime Minister encouraged the children to think of other Singaporeans.
He said,” We only succeed when we succeed together as one people, so a part of achieving your dreams must be to help one another succeed.”  ,
According to Mr. Wong, life should n’t revolve around “me, myself, and I” because otherwise, we wo n’t ever be content or happy.
” We will never be content if it’s all about me, me, me, because eventually, satisfaction comes through us serving a higher purpose and a greater calling”, he said.
The government wants to give young people more opportunities to make real, material efforts to causes they care deeply about, he continued.
Youth panel formed last year made preliminary recommendations for enhancing financial literacy, raising awareness of career opportunities in Southeast Asia, creating a safer online world, and improving recycling at the Youth Policy Forum.
The panel’s document tips, which will be submitted to government agencies by the end of the year, may be criticized in the community. In the first quarter of 2025, the state will follow up on the recommendations.
” We are very serious ( about considering the recommendations ), that’s why I’m here”, Mr Wong said at the forum, drawing laughter from the audience.
He said that the sections, which began their work in November and involved 120 boys, were just one way to get younger individuals involved in contributing to Singapore’s growth.
” We may think about future programs, options for you, and there will be many more”, he said. ” The point is, there will be a way for young people like yourselves to help, not just for your personal goals, not just for your unique desires, but to larger common life, to shaping the culture that we want to have in Singapore”.
WWII shows peril of Ukraine’s surprise attack on Kursk – Asia Times
The Battle of Kursk in 1943, the largest equipped makes conflict ever, is known as a crucial turning point for the demise of Nazi Germany, according to military historians. The German military forces ‘ strength was savaged in the fight, which also demonstrated the Red Army’s growing strength and the sophistication of its general staff.
The war opened on July 5, 1943. An first German offensive north of Moscow took place in what was intended to recoup the program lost after their incredible battle at Stalingrad before in the year.
However, the Russian armed forces’ defensive tactics quickly slammed this European push, which was followed by a Soviet counteroffensive, which pushed a degraded and deflated enemy always farther west, opening up the way to Berlin and clinching victory for Hitler’s Nazi regime.
Critics question whether there are any similarities with the history and how the outcome of the present conflict between Russia and Ukraine will be affected by a major offensive being played out once more in the Kursk province in western Russia in 2024.
Beyond the potential to alter the tale of the conflict and give a desperately needed moral boost, there is much speculating as to what the Russian attack will accomplish.
Is it intended to occupy Belarusian territory and release Russian prisoners, giving Kiev some influence at the desk of negotiations? Or is it intended to divert Russian forces from the eastern Ukrainian forefront, where they have been steadily gaining ground?
Laying the prepare
Similar issues were raised regarding the European rude in 1943.
Basically, the objective was to squeeze out a big bulge in the Soviet line on the eastern back, running 160 miles from north to south. The European equipped spearheads, which had put into the base of the scar like a pair of scalpels, served as a focal point for the area of Kursk at its centre.
On the one hand, this made defense feeling. A shorter front line may be simpler to justify now that the German military lost more than 200 000 males in the Stalingrad defeat.
Some hoped that Germany may return to the winning techniques of Blitzkrieg, which had defeated France in six months in 1940 and carried the troops to the fringes of Moscow in 1941, with the introduction of the most recent generation of vehicles such as the Tiger and Panther.
It was anticipated that a success at Kursk do re-enter German forces and give rise to a belief in the ultimate victory after Stalingrad had so severely weakened.
The 9th Army, which was instructed to press southward and collaborate with the 4th Panzer Army, which was instructed to forge a path northwest from the Belgorod place, cutting off the Russian troops in the scar. This was the strategy for two offensives.
Hitler committed 777, 000 forces, more than 2, 400 vehicles and 2, 000 aircraft – and these tools were not committed quietly. Hitler’s forces were being pressured in the Mediterranean at this time of the conflict, battered by British and American air forces, in danger of coming in from the north, and steamrolled by the Russian troops in the south. But, these were not resources that Germany was change.
In other words, Kursk was a huge gamble on Hitler’s piece. However, the Germans ‘ top brass must have believed that it was better to bargain than to accept a slow, defense stalemate as the Russians fought up against them kilometer by mile by sheer weight of numbers.
European pause and Russian security
The European army’s build-up began in March, with original plans for an offensive being laid. It took several months. Russia benefited from this period by developing the kind of defense that would become a hallmark of its military, and it was most recently seen easing the much-anticipated Ukrainian summer rude of 2023.
Top German commanders were persuaded that the time was running out before the 1943 unpleasant was even ready to begin. The Russians had long been prepared and well dug in when the rude first started on July 5.
This was at least partially attributable to a Russian detective. John Cairncross, who was stationed in England at Bletchley Park, the site of the Allied code-breaking, e-mailed decrypted messages to his Russian operators indicating its invasion plan.
The German equipped columns ‘ assault was greatly impeded by the resulting defense’s depth. By July 10 it was obvious that work in the northern had stopped, and a week later, those in the southern stopped because of concerns over the Allied crossings in Sicily.
By July 12th, the Russians were planning to launch their own battle in the north that may impose a significant cost on the European line.
By August 4, the town of Orel, in the center of German-held country, was liberated and by August 18, the German troops had taken up protective opportunities south of Bryansk. It had lost 30 of its 50 units, and upward to 500, 000 men were killed, wounded or missing in action.
Decisive battle
The issue in the west was at a turning point because of the battle. While Russian costs were multiples of those suffered by Germany, with its military-industrial system then working at full power, the Red Army quickly demonstrated its ability to heal. Germany, meanwhile. would never be able to attempt to engage in strategic combat against Russia again.
At Kursk, the road to Stalingrad became the road to Berlin. It’s too early to say whether Ukraine’s Kursk counteroffensive will be as decisive for either Moscow or Kiev. But at least for the moment, it appears to be Kiev’s advantage.
Harry Bennett is associate professor ( Reader ) in history, University of Plymouth
This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Democratic showdown puts Widodo, Prabowo on the backfoot – Asia Times
As demonstrators attempted to flood parliament in protest of the questionable political ruling, Indonesian legislators have resisted plans to disregard the government’s Constitutional Court.
Some joyous supporters of the Constitutional Court applaud the choice, but many warn that the government may still take similar steps to strengthen the authority of retiring president Joko Widodo and protection secretary Prabowo Subianto, who will take him on October 20.
The jury rendered two significant decisions on August 20 that set off the near-consensual crisis. Just days before the membership of candidates was scheduled to begin, the first significantly reduced the nomination boundary for candidates running in local elections.
There were signs of cooperation within the alliance as every key party except one then supports Prabowo and Widodo in important local races. The goal was to effectively prevent opposition candidates from winning several crucial races.
Anies Baswedan, a former governor of Jakarta and likely to win a second term in office, appeared to be the most well-known destination. But some individuals from the PDI-P – Widodo’s old group, which is now extremely opposed to him – stood to become affected.
A lower court’s decision to relax the least time demands for political candidates was overturned by the second Constitutional Court decision.
The lower court’s decision was criticized as suggest because Kaesang Pangarep, the only possible candidate who appeared to be impacted by the change, was the second child of President Joko Widodoo, who had been preparing to move for the position of deputy governor of Central Java.
Faced with this double punch, Indonesia’s congress, which pro-government events dominate, made plans to avoid the rulings. Important lawmakers met with Gerindra party’s Minister of Law and Human Rights, Supratman Andi Agtas, on August 21 for a quick meeting.
What came up was a proposal to essentially dismiss the court’s decisions by revising local election court’s provisions regarding candidate eligibility and nominations in ways that completely contradicted the decisions.
The common response, nevertheless, was swift and upset. One image designed to look like a disaster warning system, complete with the text” Peringatan Darurat” ( Emergency Alert ), spread widely on social media. It was posted and reposted by some often unbiased influencers, comedians and another celebrities, helping protest support and arrange the protests.
On August 22, protest launched big rallies across Indonesia. Special attention was given to Kaesang’s election and Jokowi’s claims that he wanted to create a political dynasty.
The protests ‘ swell of social media posts by Kaesang’s wife, which appeared to show the pair taking a private airplane to America to begin a college course there, did nothing to improve things. Additional satire was sparked by a picture of her laptop that showed her taking a social justice class.
The important action, however, took place no on social media but on the roads. The most interest was garnered by Jakarta protest ‘ attempts to take over the legislature.
However, significant demonstrations took spot in numerous cities and towns throughout the coastal region. In Ambon City and Makassar, protest managed to break into their respective local legislatures.
According to activists with knowledge from previous demonstrations who spoke to Asia Times, the protests on August 22 appeared to extend far beyond the normal groups. Numerous stars credited social media posts on their accounts with attracting more varied and larger crowds than usual.
Faced with this powerful street-level criticism, legislature has scrapped the modifying costs. Protest elicited cheers, but several remain unsure whether the government will try to restore the proposed changes once the rallies have ended.
” Yes, on the one hand, we’ve received good information that the correction is not going to get carried out”, said Fikri Diaz, a law student who joined the Jakarta demonstrations. ” But we should n’t yet lower our guard”.
He cited how, in 2019, Widodo had resorted to signing a contentious Omnibus Bill while the majority of protest were asleep to try to limit disturbance. The elections commission is awaiting word from other parties to see if it will correctly apply the judge’s decisions.
The protests and near-consensual problems occurred in the middle of what critics claim was a deterioration of politics during the national vote, which ended in February of this year.
Despite not meeting the minimum age requirement of 40, the Constitutional Court ruled in October 2023 that the first child of President Widodo, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, could be nominated as Prabowo’s vice-presidential running partner.
The Chief Justice of the Court, Widodo’s brother-in-law, was eventually removed from his place for violating professional morality in presiding over a situation in which he had a clear conflict of interest.
Additionally, there were allegations that the authorities had used happiness handouts to support Prabowo’s election and that the two opponents had been harassed at the net during the election campaign.
The Constitutional Court’s decisions, in contrast to perceived creeping anti-democratic techniques, were viewed as a positive indicator of political separation of powers for many.
” I think the Constitutional Court was giving a solution to the majoritarian tendencies we’re seeing today”, says Titi Anggraini, a constitutional lawyer and member of the Association for Elections and Democracy’s ( Perludem ) advisory board.
However, the government and legislature’s bet to avoid these judge decisions was the last straw for many Citizens worried about political backsliding.
The public’s outcry over the recent wave of insults to our political values is a classic example of a “tipping place” fact, according to Thomas Lembong, a former Widodo trade minister.
He has since become essential of Widodo and is now socially close to Anies Baswedan. Lembong endorsed the protesters in a statement on August 22 that bothered Indonesia’s democracy and its declining position.
In an appointment with Asia Times, Lembong said,” Some of our political leaders have been testing the patience and tolerance of the public by breaking more and more political and social standards more and more quickly over the past year.
” Until we got the reaction we see nowadays, with open figures and well-known actors and singers who have so far remained scrupulously reluctant suddenly speaking out,” he continued.
However, some care that the battle is far from over. The head of Indonesia’s second-largest group, Airlangga Hartarto of Golkar, abruptly resigned on August 12 and was quickly replaced by a well-known Widodo ally in a muddle of situations.
Jokowi is also concerned because he is Suharto’s son-in-law, who is accused of being a part of the 1998 kidnapping and disappearance of several pro-democracy activists.
” I think this is the new normal – rather than the be-all or end-all”, said Kevin O’Rourke, chairman of the Jakarta-based risk firm Reformasi Information Services.  ,
This is not the ultimate test of democracy, but rather the beginning of a drawn-out strategy, according to the statement. At some point, later and not actually in the near phrase, more anger is good, perhaps with violence , and , fatalities”, O’Rourke predicted.
Putting AI in tech milestone perspective – Asia Times
Recently, artificial intelligence ( AI ) technology has been at the forefront, drawing attention to businesses like Nvidia, which is now one of the world’s most valuable companies.
But where does this tech stand among those that have made the online world possible? Due improvements with the greatest potential were primarily based on electronic devices, which made it possible to develop more powerful computer and communication systems.
The transistor, which was created in 1946 and is the genesis of our modern electronic age, was the first step in the right direction. In various forms, the circuit, which replaced vacuum tubes products, is the solid-state system enabling all electrical systems.
Its scalability, reliability, and low switching power dissipation made it possible to build reliable computing systems that could n’t be achieved using previous vacuum tube technology.
In the 1960s, the following vital invention came: the integrated circuits, which combined several connected transistors on a silicon chip. The core of almost all modern digital systems is this invention, which has grown from a dozen circuits on a device to billions today.
The chips ‘ infrastructure is determined by the desired system functionality based on transistor connections.
Strong computing systems require high-speed connections, and the introduction of lasers and fibre optics solved this problem. The most widely used laser developed in the 1970s were silicon beams that enabled information contacts by high-data-rate grain optic-based data transfer.
High-frequency light photons from visual materials can be used to transmit digital data over thousands of kilometers. Now, fiber optic contacts, along with mobile systems, dominate online communication.
The development of the system that made widespread consumer and business contacts possible worldwide was completed with the introduction of the Internet in the 1990s.
Although computer software technology was developing, it was unable to keep up with the fast development of devices, which led to a rapid increase in data. As a result, the nation’s systems generated enormous amounts of data that were not important. To manage and usage data, better strategies were required.
Since the 1950s, scientific work has been ongoing to translate ideas about the special capabilities of the human mind to computer systems, despite limitations in existing technologies.
The human mind functions on the basis of a large number of coordinated cells that talk as needed to manage human activities.
Instead of using the horizontal running method, the idea that underpins AI , systems was that computer data processing may resemble that of the human mind, or “neural running.”
It was believed that this control would enable much more effective access to and use of computer energy. But, practical results were delayed to come.
In consequence, the suggested AI systems relied on large parallel information processing. A large number of running transistors, powered by an enormous quantity of processing transistors, were all that was needed to create valuable systems.
With small practical application, years of research on these methods and techniques were conducted. Finally,  , with the integrated circuit performance improving along Moore’s Law, it became possible to build useful AI systems ( with Nvidia in the processing device leadership ) and really remarkable data processing results were demonstrated. Thus the prevailing people excitement.
But is all the pleasure warranted? In my opinion, AI deserves a level alongside the main prior modern technology advances. AI enables an massive improvement , in the use and benefit of information. It does not discover new information, but it can detect trends in previously unobserved patterns in data.
AI may induce human creation by uncovering undiscovered connections but does not invent. Ultimately, it can communicate with people in real time, which would make it possible to perform tasks that are error-prone in modern techniques.
No, it does not bestow desktops with human intellect, but it enables people intelligence to perform at new levels of efficiency.
Henry Kressel is a technician, engineer, company executive and writer who has created numerous essential innovations, including founding functional semiconductor lasers. He is also a long-term private equity investment in technology businesses.
Golfer Shannon Tan becomes first Singaporean woman to make cut at a Major
SINGAPORE: Golfer Shannon Tan has made record after again. She won the second Taiwanese title on the Women European Tour in February, and she had a spectacular summer in France. She became the nation’s first female member at a women’s main in July, and she became the first athlete toContinue Reading
Thailand extradites Malaysian fugitive to China over $14bn cryptocurrency scam
Zhang is the first person that Bangkok has extradited to China as a result of financial crime since the 1999 convention became law.
In a case involving more than 100 billion yuan ( US$ 14 billion ), a Malaysian businessman who is accused of leading a fraud syndicate has been deported from Thailand to China.
According to the Chinese people security department on Friday, he is the first believe in an economic violence that Bangkok has turned over to China since a 1999 extradition treaty was signed.
The successful abduction is” a landmark achievement for the consolidation and expansion of law enforcement and criminal cooperation between China and Thailand,” the government said in the release.
The government said the believe was sent to China on Tuesday and only gave the boy’s title: Zhang. Tedy Teow Wooi Huat, the creator of the company company MBI Group, was the subject of this ode.
Following an investigation, Teow is suspected of running a pyramid scheme and defrauding individuals, many of them thought to be Foreign citizens, out of cash by tricking them into purchasing MBI’s unregistered and unrecognised bitcoin.
More than 10 million traders have fallen victim to the system since 2012, and the funds involved was for over 100 billion Chinese renminbi, according to the agency’s speech.
Later in the year 2020, Teow’s case was opened by authorities in Chongqing, south of China, and a global wanted list was released by the International Criminal Police Organization’s China commission.
Thai authorities arrested the business in July 2022 after he fled Malaysia. In response to that, Beijing sent a plea to Bangkok asking for him to be deported so that he could be tried in China.
In May, a Thai judge rendered a final decision transferring Teow to China, which the Thai government after supported.
Kuala Lumpur had likewise sought Teow’s imprisonment to Malaysia, where he is even wanted for fraud. However, China’s plea was later made.
In October 2019, about 100 Taiwanese citizens staged a demonstration outside Beijing’s ambassador in Malaysia, claiming they had lost their life savings to the company, and MBI Group, which describes itself as having “diversified passions in tools and management advances.”
The Taiwanese government has described Teow’s case as “extraordinary” and anticipates that China’s involvement in repatriation efforts will be “positive examples” in the future.
Wang Yi, the country’s top minister, met with counterparts from Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar last week at the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation ( LMC) website in the Thai town of Chiang Mai, calling for more international cooperation to fight cross-border crimes in the region, particularly online gambling and telecoms scams.
Wang claimed that since last year, the four countries have collaborated extensively and detained more than 50 000 suspects in playing and fraud cases.
During the meeting, the foreign ministries of all six nations participating in the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism, which furthermore includes Vietnam and Cambodia, released a joint declaration urging greater participation in preventing international offense.
We are “deeply concerned about the weight and severity of the consistent and escalating challenges posed by transnational offences,” the statement said.
We urge member countries to prioritize assistance in the fight against drug smuggling, as well as stopping telecommunication/online frauds and all forms of gambling, and encouraging participation across borders.