In a meeting at Beijing’s Diaoyutai state guest house, where China’s leaders have traditionally received senior foreign visitors, Xi said he was very happy to see the Microsoft MSFT.O co-founder and philanthropist after three years, and that Gates was the first American friend he had met this year.

“I often say the foundation of US-China relations lies with its people. I place my hopes on the American people,” a video published by state broadcaster CCTV showed Xi as saying.

“With the current global situation, we can carry out various activities beneficial to our two countries and people, activities that benefit humanity as a whole,” he said.

Gates, who arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, June 14, said he was “honored” to have the chance to meet. “We’ve always had great conversations and we’ll have lot of important topics to discuss today…. It’s very exciting to be back.”

In a post on his personal blog, Gates said he and Xi had discussed global health and development challenges such as health inequity and climate change.

Xi stopped traveling abroad for nearly three years as China shut its borders during the coronavirus pandemic and his international meetings since the reopening have mostly been with other state leaders.

A number of CEOs have visited China since it reopened early this year, but most have met with government ministers.

Gates stepped down from Microsoft’s board in 2020 to focus on philanthropy in the fields of global health, education and climate change.

The last reported meeting between Xi and Gates was in 2015, when they met on the sidelines of the Boao forum in Hainan province. In early 2020, Xi wrote to Gates thanking him and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for pledging assistance to China, including $5 million for its fight against COVID-19.

Xi also discussed the global rise of artificial intelligence(AI) with Bill Gates and said he welcomed US firms including Microsoft bringing their AI tech to China, two sources familiar with the talks said.

One of the sources said they also discussed Microsoft’s business development in China.

Not pursuing hegemony

The mood of the foreign business community towards China has turned more cautious as Sino-US tensions intensify and Xi increases China’s focus on national security.

Gates’ visit comes ahead of a long-delayed trip to China by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken aimed at stabilizing relations between the world’s two largest economies and strategic rivals.

Blinken had a tense call with China’s foreign minister Qin Gang on Wednesday, during which Qin urged the United States to stop meddling in its affairs and harming its security.

During his meeting with Gates, Xi said China would not follow the old path of a “strong country seeking hegemony” but would work with other countries to achieve common development, according to the People’s Daily newspaper. China often accuses the United States of pursuing hegemony.

Apart from meeting Xi, Gates gave a speech at the Global Health Drug Discovery Institute about the need to use technology to solve global health challenges during his visit.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Beijing municipal government, which founded the institute with Tsinghua University, also pledged to each provide $50 million to bolster the institute’s drug discovery capacity. – Rappler.com

The proposal was made in a June 14 letter to Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) counterparts from Thailand’s Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, which was seen by Reuters on Friday, June 16, and confirmed by three sources with knowledge of the planned meeting.

In a summit last month, ASEAN leaders called for an immediate end to the violence in Myanmar, which began after the military deposed the elected civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in a 2021 coup.

Frustration has mounted among some members of the 10-country bloc over how to handle Myanmar and its bloody political turmoil and Thailand’s latest move will raise fresh questions about the group’s unity.

Two sources with knowledge of Sunday’s meeting told Reuters that Myanmar’s junta-appointed foreign minister had been invited. Myanmar’s military spokesman did not respond to phone calls on Friday night.

ASEAN chair Indonesia has declined to attend the proposed meeting, according to three sources. Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry told Reuters it “hasn’t heard” about the invitation.

The foreign ministry in Thailand declined to comment. Thailand is expected to have a new government by August following an election last month that saw the ruling pro-military coalition trounced by progressive and populist parties.

Myanmar’s ruling generals for nearly two years have been barred by ASEAN from its high-level meetings over its failure to honor a 2021 agreement, known as the “5-point consensus,” which included calls for a cessation of hostilities, dialogue between all parties and the granting of full humanitarian access.

The government of Thailand – whose current prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, himself first came to power in an army coup – has previously sought to bring Myanmar’s military officials back into informal talks with ASEAN counterparts – at times putting it at odds with efforts by Indonesia.

A source in Jakarta said Indonesia’s rejection of the invitation included the fact that Thailand’s initiative contradicted the recent ASEAN agreement at the May summit.

Foreign Minister Don’s letter said the proposed meeting would be “part of the initial steps” of the peace process and cited the summit where “a member nation” made an unequivocal statement that ASEAN should fully reengage with Myanmar at the leadership level.

“A number of members supported the call and some were willing to consider, there was no explicit dissenting voice,” Don said in the letter.

“Should this informal ministerial engagement make substantial positive progress, we would like to suggest that a carpe diem back-to-back meeting of leaders be convened thereafter.”

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said the Thai foreign minister had shown “arrogance” by inviting his junta counterpart who other regional neighbors have shunned.

“No wonder ASEAN’s efforts have been stymied at every step to resolve the Myanmar crisis,” he said.

Thailand’s progressive Move Forward Party, which won most seats in the May election, has signaled that if it is able to form a government, it intends to follow a different policy on Myanmar from the current pro-military coalition that was soundly defeated at the polls.

Indonesia last month cited progress in its own behind-the-scenes efforts to engage multiple parties in Myanmar’s conflict in a bid to advance a peace process agreed by ASEAN leaders and Myanmar’s military in April 2021.

Myanmar has been roiled by violence since the February 1, 2021 coup, with the military battling on multiple fronts to try to crush an armed pro-democracy resistance movement formed in response to the crackdown.

Human rights and some United Nations experts have accused the military of committing widespread atrocities. The junta says it is fighting terrorists who aim to destroy the country. – Rappler.com

Japan, the only Group of Seven (G7) nation that does not have legal protection for same-sex unions, had originally pledged to pass the law before hosting a G7 summit last month.

However, wrangling over the bill meant it was only submitted to parliament for consideration on May 18, the day before the summit began.

The initial draft stipulated that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity should “not be tolerated” but was changed to “there should be no unfair discrimination,” which critics say may tacitly encourage some forms of discrimination.

Despite the bill being watered down, some members of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party still broke ranks with party directives, boycotting or walking out of Tuesday’s vote in the lower house and the final vote in the upper house.

“There have been crimes committed by impersonators in women’s restrooms,” former upper house president Akiko Santo told reporters after boycotting the vote in that chamber. “It would be a very serious problem if this bill passed and the trend became that it was normal to accept anything.”

Japan has come under pressure from other G7 nations, especially the United States, to allow same-sex marriage.

Business leaders say they fear Japan will not be able to remain internationally competitive without greater diversity, including representation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people – especially as Tokyo seeks to promote itself as a global financial center.

“As a financial institution, in order to achieve sustainable growth, it is essential to create an environment in which people with diverse backgrounds and values can play an active role,” Masahiko Kato, chairperson of the Japan Bankers association and president of Mizuho Bank, told a press conference this week.

Japan’s public broadly supports same-sex marriage, according to opinion polls, while local governments in most of the country allow same-sex partnership agreements that fall short of the rights guaranteed by marriage.

“Some 70% of the nation allows same-sex partnerships, and surveys have found more than 70% of people are in favor of same-sex marriage,” the activist group Marriage for All Japan said in a tweet after the bill passed.

“Even business leaders are on our side. Now, parliament and the government must move.”

Kishida in February sacked an aide who had sparked outrage by saying people would flee Japan if same-sex marriage was allowed and that he did not want to live next to LGBTQ+ couples.

The premier, however, has remained noncommittal on same-sex marriage, saying circumstances in each nation are different and discussion had to proceed “carefully”.

In five court cases on same-sex marriage over the last two years, four courts ruled either that not allowing it was unconstitutional or nearly so. One said not allowing it was in line with the constitution. – Rappler.com

Blinken will hold meetings in China on June 18-19 and may meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, sources said. He will be the highest-ranking US government official to visit China since Biden took office in January 2021.

In a pre-trip briefing on Wednesday, June 14, US officials said they have no expectation the trip will yield a breakthrough in how the US and China deal with each other. That followed a tense evening phone call with Blinken on Tuesday during which Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang told the US to stop meddling in China’s affairs.

The visit, which could set the stage for a flurry of other diplomatic engagements including a meeting between Xi and US President Joe Biden later in the year, would show that the two rivals have not given up on diplomacy.

“Both sides want to show the rest of the world that they are managing the relationship responsibly,” said Andrew Small, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund’s Asia program.

“For China, the most important audience is the global south. For the US, it’s partners and allies. So even going through the motions has some utility for both Washington and Beijing.”

Bilateral ties have deteriorated across the board, raising concerns that their rivalry could veer into conflict over Taiwan, which China claims as its own. The two are also at odds over issues ranging from trade and microchips to human rights.

Particularly worrisome for China’s neighbors has been its reluctance to allow regular military-to-military talks between Beijing and Washington, despite repeated US attempts. US officials said on Wednesday that setting up crisis communication channels to reduce risk was a top priority.

“Anything that would lead to greater cooperation, greater dialogue and a lessening of tensions between Beijing and Washington is to be welcomed,” United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Wednesday.

While Blinken’s main goal will be “candid, direct, and constructive” discussions, the US officials said, breakthroughs are not likely on any major issues, including the flow of fentanyl precursors and Americans detained in China.

Eyeing Biden-Xi meeting

A meeting on the sidelines of a G20 summit last November in Bali briefly eased fears of a new Cold War, but following the dispute over an alleged Chinese spy balloon in February, high-level communication between the countries has been rare.

Beijing, frustrated by what it sees as the Biden administration’s weaponization of economic policies, has sought to expand ties with countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Xi has recently received several European leaders including French President Emanuel Macron and made a diplomatic push to court others, including US ally Saudi Arabia.

US officials expect Blinken’s visit will pave the way for more bilateral meetings in the coming months, including possible trips by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

“Beijing agreed to the visit because it seems to be the one thing that is blocking many other things, such as working-level dialogues and the visits by other cabinet members,” said Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington.

Those meetings could lead to one between the countries’ leaders when they attend a September G20 meeting in India and the November Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco.

“Xi does want to come to San Francisco,” said Sun. “[Aside from] APEC, he also wants a bilateral with Biden. That means the groundwork must be paved starting from now.” – Rappler.com

As it steps back from decades of pacifism, Tokyo worries that the Philippines is a weak link in an island chain stretching from the Japanese archipelago to Indonesia through which ships must pass going to or from the Pacific Ocean.

Chief among the Japanese military’s concerns is a Chinese attack on neighboring Taiwan that could spark a wider conflict, with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warning that Ukraine today could be East Asia tomorrow. To help address that, Tokyo in April said it would offer like-minded countries military aid, including radars, that the officials said would help the Philippines plug defensive gaps.

“It is very useful giving radars to the Philippines because it means we could share information about the Bashi Channel,” said retired admiral Katsutoshi Kawano, referring to the waterway separating the Philippines and Taiwan. It is considered a choke point for vessels moving between the western Pacific and the contested South China Sea.

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Three Japanese government officials involved in national security strategy planning told Reuters that Washington was advising Japan on what to supply because it had a close military relationship with the Philippines. One, however, said the aid effort was a Japanese initiative and not anything the United States had pressed for.

The officials declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

“We are in the process of selecting equipment that can be used for maritime monitoring and security. We don’t know yet what exactly that will be,” a spokesperson at Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said it was not immediately able to comment on security aid from Japan or hosting Japanese troops.

US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, will meet in Tokyo on Friday with his counterparts from Japan and the Philippines, Takeo Akiba and Eduardo Año, for the first in a series of regular meetings to discuss security cooperation.

Loosening the rules

The scope of Japanese military aid is limited by a self-imposed ban on lethal equipment exports.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in December promised to review that restriction when he unveiled an unprecedented five-year military build-up that will double defense spending within five years.

Looser export rules are expected in coming months, but as pressure grows on industrial economies to help Ukraine, Tokyo has begun testing those restrictions.

After Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Japan last month for the Group of Seven leaders’ summit, Kishida donated military trucks and other vehicles. Tokyo has also told the United States it can buy industrial explosives in Japan for artillery shells destined for Ukraine, and may provide shells themselves to the United States, freeing up supplies for Kyiv.

Japan’s military aid to the Philippines “will expand step by step and my hope is that it will change to include lethal weapons” such as anti-ship missiles, said Kawano, who served as chief of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces’ (SDF) Joint Staff for five years until 2019.

Kawano and the government officials who spoke to Reuters predicted Manila could give Japan access to its military bases, as it does with the United States, allowing Japanese SDF aircraft to patrol the South China Sea. Japan can monitor waters east of Taiwan from Yonaguni island, about 100 kilometers away.

In February, the Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Kishida agreed in Tokyo that their militaries would cooperate in disaster relief.

That meeting, in which Kishida also promised Marcos 600 billion yen ($4.3 billion) in development aid and private investment, was preceded in December by the first-ever visit to the Philippines by Japanese fighter jets and a series of high-level military meetings. Japan in March observed US-Philippine military drills, and this month their coast guards trained together for the first time.

All of this, experts say, could be a precursor to a reciprocal access agreement (RAA) that would allow both countries to deploy their forces on each other’s soil. If Manila accepts such an agreement – Tokyo has RAAs with Britain and Australia – a pact could be concluded within a year, another of the three Japanese government officials said.

“Since the change in administration, the Philippines has been giving very positive signals, and that could mean a quick agreement,” said Yusuke Ishihara, a senior fellow at Japan’s National Institute for Defense Studies. But he said Japan and the United States are treading carefully in trilateral talks with the Philippines.

“It’s sensitive about its relations with China. The trick will be to put the Philippines at ease by discussing economics issues or economic security rather than just defense,” he said. – Rappler.com

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) identified conditions such as excessive working hours, unpaid overtime, low wages, restricted movement, and being unable to quit among its indicators of forced labor.

The survey, based on interviews with 1,201 domestic workers in Southeast Asia, found 29% of those in Malaysia faced such conditions, compared to 7% and 4% in its neighbors Singapore and Thailand, respectively.

Malaysia did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the survey findings.

Wannarat Srisuksai, a spokesperson for Thailand’s labor ministry, said the treatment of domestic workers in the country has improved following laws introduced in 2012 to protect the group.

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Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower said the vast majority of migrant domestic workers were satisfied with working and living in Singapore, with protections including timely salary payment, adequate daily rest, proper food and accommodation, and regular medical check-ups.

In all three countries, however, the domestic workers surveyed on average worked hours “well in excess” of those legislated for other workers, and none earned the minimum wage, the ILO said.

“Domestic work is one of the most important tasks in our society, and yet provided with the least protection. This can no longer be accepted,” said Anna Engblom, chief technical adviser at the ILO program, which conducted the study.

The ILO urged Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand to ratify UN conventions on domestic workers and forced labor, to recognize the skilled nature of domestic work, and ensure migration pathways that did not tie the workers to their employers.

Households in Asia often employ domestic workers – usually women from developing nations such as Indonesia, Myanmar, and the Philippines – to carry out housekeeping tasks including cooking, cleaning, childcare, and gardening.

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Malaysia has faced criticism in recent years following multiple incidents of Indonesian domestic workers being abused in Malaysian households, while several of its companies have been accused of exploiting migrant laborers.

Indonesians make up about 80% of domestic workers in Malaysia, according to the ILO. Last year, Malaysia and Indonesia signed an agreement to improve protections for domestic workers. – Rappler.com

HONG KONG – Various versions of the pro-democracy protest anthem “Glory to Hong Kong” were unavailable on Apple’s iTunes Store, Spotify, KKBOX, Facebook, and Instagram’s Reels on Wednesday, June 14, after the government sought an injunction banning the song outright.

A Reuters search for the song’s Chinese title on Apple’s iTunes Store and KKBOX and a search for the song’s English title on Facebook and Instagram’s Reels only showed a Taiwan version of the song by Taiwanese rock band The Chairman.

The song was the unofficial anthem of Hong Kong’s 2019 sometimes violent pro-democracy street protests.

Various versions of the song released by the creator “ThomasDGX & HongKongers” on Spotify were no longer available.

Spotify said the song was taken down by the distributor, not by its platform.

DGX Music, the music group behind the song, said on their Facebook page that they “are dealing with some technical issues unrelated to the streaming platform”.

“Sorry for bringing the temporary impact. Thank you every audience!” DGX Music wrote.

The injunction application comes after “Glory to Hong Kong” was played mistakenly at several international events, including a Rugby Sevens game and an ice hockey competition.

The song was banned in schools in 2020 after China imposed a national security law on the financial hub cracking down on dissent.

The city’s leader, John Lee, said in a regular government press conference on Tuesday that the song was “not compatible with the national interest”.

“Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has a duty and obligation to safeguard national security, and we should do it proactively and also preventively,” Lee said.

The head of Amnesty International’s China team, Sarah Brooks, said in a statement that “a song is not a threat to national security, and national security may not be used as an excuse to deny people the right to express different political views.”

Hong Kong returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997 with the guarantee its freedoms, including freedom of speech, would be protected under a “one country, two systems” formula. Critics of the national security law say those freedoms have eroded swiftly.

According to a writ seen by Reuters, the government seeks to ban performing and disseminating of the song, including online, its melody and lyrics and any adaptations.

The writ also listed 32 YouTube videos related to the song, including instrumental and sign-language versions. The application for an interim injunction will be heard by the High Court on July 21.

The government asked anyone who opposes the injunction to contact police by June 21 and provide their name, address, telephone number and identity card number.

“Glory to Hong Kong”, including its various versions, dominated the top 10 in Apple’s Hong Kong iTunes Store chart as people rushed to buy the song after the government announced its bid to ban it.

Overseas Hongkongers have launched a global appeal to radio stations around the world to broadcast the song. Radio stations in Australia, France, Ukraine, Denmark and Estonia have played the song.

Apple, KKBOX and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Meta, which owned Facebook and Instagram, has declined to comment.

Hong Kong does not have its own anthem. “Glory to Hong Kong” has been played mistakenly instead of the Chinese national anthem “March of the Volunteers”. The Asia Rugby Association blamed “a simple human error” for its mistake.

Hong Kong’s security chief said in December Google had refused to change its search results to display China’s national anthem instead of “Glory to Hong Kong” when users searched for Hong Kong’s national anthem, expressing “great regret” at the decision. – Rappler.com

China’s foreign minister Qin Gang urged the United States to stop meddling in its affairs and harming its security in a phone call with his US counterpart on Wednesday, June 14, a tense preview to Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing expected in coming days.

Qin told Blinken to respect China’s core concerns, such as the Taiwan issue, in an effort to arrest declining relations between the superpowers, according to China’s foreign ministry.

Blinken stressed the need for communication “to avoid miscalculation and conflict” and said the US would continue to raise areas of concern as well as potential cooperation with China, the State Department said in a brief summary of the call.

If Blinken’s trip goes ahead, it will be the first visit to China by Washington’s top diplomat in five years and the highest profile visit of US President Joe Biden’s administration, which has clashed with Beijing over issues ranging from spy allegations to a semiconductor tussle.

The Chinese foreign ministry has yet to reveal information on Blinken’s trip, but a US official last Friday, June 9, said Blinken would be in Beijing on June 18, giving no other details.

Blinken cancelled a planned trip to Beijing in February over a suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew over the United States.

Visits by US officials to Taiwan, the democratically governed island that Beijing considers an integral part of China, have also magnified tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

“Since the beginning of the year, Sino-US relations have encountered new difficulties and challenges, and the responsibility is clear,” Qin told Blinken, according to the foreign ministry’s readout.

The United States should “stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, and stop harming China’s sovereignty, security and development interests in the name of competition,” Qin added. – Rappler.com

An 18-year-old SDF member injured three other personnel with automatic weapon fire, public broadcaster NHK reported, citing the defense ministry. The victims were transported to hospital, with two dying of their injuries, NHK said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the incident happened at about 9 am at an SDF shooting range in Hino City in the central Japanese prefecture of Gifu. An SDF spokesperson said eight shots were fired.

The victims included a man in his 50s and two in their 20s, and there were no reports of civilian casualties, NHK said.

Shootings are extremely rare in Japan, where gun ownership is tightly regulated and anyone seeking to own a gun must go through a rigorous vetting process. – Rappler.com

China routinely conducts exercises along its coast, though the ones near Chinese-claimed Taiwan often attract the most attention.

China’s Maritime Safety Administration issued a no sail zone warning from late morning to mid-afternoon on Tuesday for an area off Taizhou city in Zhejiang province for live fire exercises from warships.

Other drills around the same location will last until late Tuesday evening, it said.

The drills are near the Dachen islands, which Taiwan controlled until 1955 until being evacuated after other nearby islands were seized by Chinese forces in a bloody battle.

Taiwan still controls the Matsu and Kinmen islands, off the coast of China’s Fujian province, held since the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taipei after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists.

China will hold separate exercises in another northern part of the East China Sea until late Wednesday afternoon, the maritime safety agency said.

China’s East China Sea exercises coincide with a quadrilateral naval exercise in the Philippine Sea that started on Friday involving the United States, Japan, Canada and France.

That includes two carrier strike groups led by US aircraft carriers USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan jointly operating for the first time since June 2020, the U.S. 7th Fleet said in a statement. – Rappler.com