3/31/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 31, 2021

 White House News in Chinese - About (weebly.com)

MARCH 30, 2021
President Biden Signs PPP Extension Act
President Biden signed into law the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Extension Act of 2021. He spoke briefly about the importance of the program and thanked the group of bipartisan senators that helped get the bill passed.


President Biden signs the Paycheck Protection Program Extension Act of 2021 into law at the White House on March 30, 2021.
Biden signs PPP extension into law, moving application deadline to May 31


Mar. 31 - Washington -- President Biden on Tuesday signed an extension for the popular Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was created last year to help small businesses weather the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The deadline to apply for a PPP loan has been extended from March 31 to May 31, and the law extends authorization of loans to June 30 to give the Small Business Administration additional time to process applications.

"It is a bipartisan accomplishment," Mr. Biden said in remarks at the bill signing at the White House on Tuesday. "Without somebody signing this bill today, there are hundreds of thousands of people who could lose their jobs, and small family businesses that might close forever."

Mr. Biden thanked Democratic Senators Ben Cardin and Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Susan Collins for helping to shepherd the bill through Congress, where it received overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress. The bill extending the deadline passed the House by a vote of 415 to 3, and was approved in the Senate by a vote of 92 to 7.

In late February, the Biden administration announced several additional changes to the program aimed at making the distribution of loans more equitable. As of early March, Small Business Administration data shows average loans to minority-owned businesses were up 20% during the two-week exclusive window from the average over the previous 10 days. Loans to women-owned businesses were up 14%, and loans to small businesses in rural areas were up 12% over the same periods.     source from

MARCH 30, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held a briefing on news of the day. Topics discussed included a preview of President Biden’s speech on infrastructure and the World Health Organization’s report on COVID-19.


President Biden to announce $2 trillion infrastructure proposal on Wednesday
The proposal will reportedly be be paid for by increasing the corporate tax rate up to 28 percent from 21 percent, and through developing a global tax on corporate earnings.


Mar. 31 - Less than a month after approving a whopping $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, President Biden on Wednesday will unveil a $2 trillion infrastructure package.
Information regarding the plans was provided to legislators in a Tuesday call with White House staff, according to The Hill.

The Hill noted that "a source familiar with the call" confirmed to the outlet that the proposal would be paid for through increasing the corporate tax rate up to 28 percent from the 21 percent, and through developing a global tax on corporate earnings... The president will officially reveal the proposal in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.      source from


Israeli Firm Working on Sensitive Project Signed MOU With Chinese State-owned Company Without Government's Knowledge
An Israeli company working on a major aviation project signed a deal with a Chinese state-owned corporation blacklisted by the U.S. Defense officials voiced concerns it could harm ties with Washington

Mar. 31 - ...Chinese involvement in Israel has been sharply criticized in recent years by the United States, especially the Pentagon. The American security establishment is concerned that Chinese projects will open a door to technological surveillance of the U.S. Army deployed in the region, and Israel has been warned multiple times about collaboration with China. One of the main issues Israel has been cautioned about is the expansion of Haifa Port by a Chinese company. In closed-doors meetings, American officials said that the U.S. Sixth Fleet would cease anchoring at the port over espionage concerns...     quoted from


Floyd’s nephew, Brandon Williams (center), with the Rev. Al Sharpton (left) outside the heavily guarded Hennepin County Government Center, in Minneapolis, Minn., before the murder trial of Officer Derek Chauvin began, March 29, 2021
Derek Chauvin trial begins in George Floyd murder case: 5 essential reads on police violence against Black men


Mar. 31 - The trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd is underway in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Chauvin, who is white, is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter in connection with the death of George Floyd, who was Black, during an arrest last May. For 8 minutes and 46 seconds, Floyd – handcuffed and face down on the pavement – said repeatedly that he could not breathe, while other officers looked on.

A video of Floyd’s agonizing death soon went viral, triggering last summer’s unprecedented wave of mass protests against police violence and racism. Chauvin’s murder trial is expected to last up to four weeks.

These five stories offer expert analysis and key background on police violence, Derek Chauvin’s record and racism in U.S. law enforcement.

1. Police violence is a top cause of death for Black men
Since 2000, U.S. police have killed between 1,000 and 1,200 people per year, according to Fatal Encounters, an up-to-date archive of police killings. The victims are disproportionately likely to be Black, male and young, according to a study by Frank Edwards at the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice, in Newark.

In 2019, Edwards and two co-authors analyzed the Fatal Encounters data to assess how risk of death at the hands of police varies by age, sex and race or ethnicity. They found that while “police are responsible for a very small share of all deaths” in any given year, they “are responsible for a substantial proportion of all deaths of young people.”


Police violence was the sixth-leading cause of death for young men in the United States in 2019, after accidents, suicides, homicides, heart disease and cancer.

That risk is particularly high pronounced for young men of color, especially young Black men.
“About 1 in 1,000 Black men and boys are killed by police” during their lifetime, Edwards wrote.

In contrast, the general U.S. male population is killed by police at a rate of .52 per 1,000 – about half as often.     more to read

3/30/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 30, 2021

 White House News in Chinese - About (weebly.com)

MARCH 29, 2021
President Biden Delivers Remarks on COVID-19 Response and Vaccinations
President Biden delivered remarks on the COVID-19 response amid an increase in cases around the country. He said, “the war against COVID-19 is far from won,” and encouraged the public to continue to follow the health guidelines. He went onto announce vaccination sites will be available within five miles of 90 percent of Americans and 90 percent of adults will be eligible for the vaccine, both by April 19, 2021. He also said he thinks states should pause their reopening efforts. 
President Joe Biden is delivering remarks Monday on the government’s Covid-19 response and vaccination efforts around the country.

Biden’s remarks come just hours after the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, issued a dire warning to reporters. She said she’s worried the U.S. was facing “impending doom” as daily Covid-19 cases begin to rebound once again, threatening to send more people to the hospital even as vaccinations accelerate nationwide.
U.S. health officials are urging Americans to get vaccinated as quickly as possible while also following pandemic safety measures.
CDC study looking at health-care personnel and other essential workers published Monday found Pfizer’s and Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccines were 80% effective in preventing coronavirus infections two weeks after a single dose. Two doses were better than one, with the vaccines’ effectiveness jumping to 90% two weeks after the second dose, the agency found.     source from

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MARCH 29, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held a briefing on news of the day. She said President Biden was closely watching the trial of Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder in the death of George Floyd. She also spoke about the administration’s goal for advancing equity and racial justice. When asked about CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky’s warning about increases in COVID-19 cases ,she said the president had not held back in calling for the public to follow public health guidance. 
Biden doesn’t intend to meet with NK leader: White House

Mar. 30 - The White House said it is not the intention of US President Joe Biden to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as part of the diplomacy that Biden has said he was prepared for.


In response to the question, “Now that the president said he’s ‘prepared for some form of diplomacy,’ does this include sitting with President Kim Jong-un?” at the White House daily press briefing Monday, press secretary Jen Psaki said, “I think his approach would be quite different, and that is not his intention.”

Psaki reconfirmed the Biden administration’s position on North Korea that, unlike former US President Donald Trump who met with Kim three times, it will not go for summits without reaching a concrete agreement toward denuclearization in advance.

Biden said in his first press conference as US president on Thursday that he is “prepared for some form of diplomacy,” but made it clear that “it has to be conditioned upon the end result of denuclearization.”      continue to read


Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and U.S. President Joe Biden area expected to hold talks in Washington on April 9. 
Japan and U.S. arranging Suga-Biden Washington summit on April 9
Mar. 30 - Japan and the United States are arranging for Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and President Joe Biden to hold their summit in Washington on April 9, a government source said Tuesday.

It will be Biden’s first in-person meeting with a foreign leader since taking office in January, with the two likely to discuss human rights issues in China and ways to counter the Asian power’s growing maritime assertiveness, as well as efforts to denuclearize North Korea.     continue to read

The Iran-China deal is cause for Israeli concern
The 25-year agreement effectively neutralizes U.S. economic pressure, seriously bolsters Tehran’s bargaining position and could herald the regime’s renewed effort to achieve regional hegemony.

Mar. 30 - (March 30, 2021 / JNS) While Israel was busy with the domestic political imbroglio surrounding last week’s Knesset elections, a strategic threat that could threaten the country’s very existence was developing. If the Iranian-Chinese alliance reaches its full potential, the Middle East could once again be dragged into a new cold war between superpowers.


Soviet support for the late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s radical policies ensured him regional hegemony that threatened Israel for more than a decade. The American attempt to placate the Egyptian leader only made things worse.

Now, massive Chinese assistance to the radical regime in Tehran could provide Iran support in its attempts to impose its hegemony on the region within the framework of another kind of cold war now developing between Washington and Beijing. Such Chinese support, along with U.S. President Joe Biden’s conciliatory tone, could pose the kind of strategic threat Israel has not seen since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.     more to read

3/29/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 29, 2021

White House News in Chinese - About (weebly.com) 

March 28, 2021

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on U.S.-China Relations
During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked about the U.S.-China relationship.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on China to end its human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
US-China relations: Blinken condemns China’s ‘baseless sanctions’
Beijing’s efforts ‘contribute to the growing international scrutiny of the ongoing genocide’ in Xinjiang, US secretary of state says
US stands ‘in solidarity with Canada, the UK, the EU, and other partners and allies around the world’, he says

Mar. 28 - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
 said on Saturday that China’s tit-for-tat sanctions against two Americans in the growing dispute over Beijing’s treatment of Uygurs were “baseless” and would only shine a spotlight on the “genocide” in Xinjiang.

“Beijing’s attempts to intimidate and silence those speaking out for human rights and fundamental freedoms only contribute to the growing international scrutiny of the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang,” he said.

Blinken spoke out after China announced sanctions against two Americans, a Canadian and a rights advocacy body
 in response to sanctions imposed this week by the two countries over Beijing’s treatment of people from the Uygur ethnic minority group.     quoted from

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China has unveiled sanctions against US and Canadian figures in response to sanctions over Beijing’s treatment of uighurs.
US and Canada hit back at China's 'baseless' sanctions as Xinjiang row deepens

Washington says Beijing’s tit-for-tat sanctions will only focus attention on its ‘genocide’ against Uighurs

Mar. 29 - The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has warned that China’s tit-for-tat sanctions against two Americans in the growing dispute over Beijing’s treatment of Uighurs were “baseless” and would only shine a harsh spotlight on the “genocide” in Xinjiang.

“Beijing’s attempts to intimidate and silence those speaking out for human rights and fundamental freedoms only contribute to the growing international scrutiny of the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang,” Blinken said in a statement on Saturday.

He spoke out after China announced sanctions against two Americans, a Canadian and a rights advocacy body, in response to sanctions imposed this week by the two countries over Beijing’s treatment of the Uighur minority.

Blinken called the sanctions on the two members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom “baseless”.
At least one million Uighurs and people from other mostly Muslim groups have been held in camps in China’s Xinjiang region, according to rights groups, who accuse authorities of forcibly sterilising women and imposing forced labor.     more to read

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The Truths We Hold: An American Journey

From Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris, one of America's most inspiring political leaders, a book about the core truths that unite us, and the long struggle to discern what those truths are and how best to act upon them, in her own life and across the life of our country

Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris's commitment to speaking truth is informed by her upbringing. The daughter of immigrants, she was raised in an Oakland, California community that cared deeply about social justice; her parents--an esteemed economist from Jamaica and an admired cancer researcher from India--met as activists in the civil rights movement when they were graduate students at Berkeley. Growing up, Harris herself never hid her passion for justice, and when she became a prosecutor out of law school, a deputy district attorney, she quickly established herself as one of the most innovative change agents in American law enforcement. She progressed rapidly to become the elected District Attorney for San Francisco, and then the chief law enforcement officer of the state of California as a whole. Known for bringing a voice to the voiceless, she took on the big banks during the foreclosure crisis, winning a historic settlement for California's working families. Her hallmarks were applying a holistic, data-driven approach to many of California's thorniest issues, always eschewing stale "tough on crime" rhetoric as presenting a series of false choices. Neither "tough" nor "soft" but smart on crime became her mantra. Being smart means learning the truths that can make us better as a community, and supporting those truths with all our might. That has been the pole star that guided Harris to a transformational career as California’s attorney general, as a United States senator, and now as vice president-elect, grappling in every role with an array of complex issues, from health care and the new economy to immigration, national security, the opioid crisis, and accelerating inequality.

By reckoning with the big challenges we face together, drawing on the hard-won wisdom and insight from her own career and the work of those who have most inspired her, Kamala Harris offers in THE TRUTHS WE HOLD a master class in problem solving, in crisis management, and leadership in challenging times. Through the arc of her own life, on into the great work of our day, she communicates a vision of shared struggle, shared purpose, and shared values. In a book rich in many home truths, not least is that a relatively small number of people work very hard to convince a great many of us that we have less in common than we actually do, but it falls to us to look past them and get on with the good work of living our common truth. When we do, our shared effort will continue to sustain us and this great nation, now and in the years to come.     source from
加拿大博主发视频讲透涉疆谎言 让人看清“涉疆谎言制造者”的嘴脸 |《中国新闻》CCTV中文国际
Mar 28, 2021
March 28, 2021
Senator Pat Toomey on Gun Legislation

During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) talked about the possibility of bipartisanship on gun control legislation.

3/27/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 27, 2021

 2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

Suez Canal Blockade: How the giant ship is blocking the Suez? | Latest English News | WION
Mar 26, 2021


British businesses are getting worried as Egypt's Suez Canal continues to be blocked by a Taiwanese mega-container ship for the fourth day in a row.
'Our customers are worried about the Suez Canal blockage'

Mar. 27 - Seaport Freight Services, a shipping and freight-forwarding company based at the Port of Felixstowe, has 20 containers of goods stranded on the Ever Given.

"We're waiting on food goods like coconut milk and syrups, some spare parts for motors, we've got some fork lift trucks, some Amazon goods on there, all sorts," Steve Parks, director of Seaport Freight Services, tells the BBC.
"All our customers are hearing about it, and they're phoning us to ask when it will be resolved."

The 400m-long (1,312ft) ship Ever Given, operated by Taiwanese transport company Evergreen Marine, is one of the world's largest biggest container vessels.

It weighs 200,000 tonnes, with a maximum capacity of 20,000 containers.

The ship ran aground and became lodged sideways across the waterway on Tuesday after a gust of wind blew it off course.

It is blocking one of the world's busiest trade routes, causing a huge tailback of other ships trying to pass through the Suez Canal, which separates Africa from the Middle East and Asia.

There are more than 160 vessels waiting at either end of the canal, according to tracking data from Lloyd's List.

At the moment, Mr Park says there is only one way to get goods through - go round the Horn of Africa, which will add another seven days to the journey.

"We've had supply problems from the Far East, we've had Covid, we've had the Brexit changes. You couldn't really make it up," he says.

"Things were just starting to get better. We were just starting to get over the shortage of containers, the shortage of vessels, and then this happens."     more details

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US Amb. to Vietnam Tapped as Assistant State Secretary for East Asia

Mar. 27 - The White House said Friday that President Joe Biden has nominated the U.S. ambassador to Vietnam to become assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs.

Daniel Kritenbrink, a veteran diplomat, is considered an Asia expert with considerable knowledge on Chinese affairs.

His nomination is believed to reflect the policy direction of the Biden administration, which has labeled China a greatest threat.

Kritenbrink has been Washington's envoy in Hanoi since 2017 and previously served at the National Security Council and the U.S. embassy in China.

If confirmed, he will replace David Stilwell, who stepped down as assistant secretary of state when Biden took office.     source from
美欲拉盟友制裁俄罗斯 俄外长访韩博弈棋局如何变?20210325 |《今日关注》CCTV中文国际
Mar 26, 2021
What do the Suez Canal, Hillary Clinton and a Taiwanese shipping company have in common?
The Evergreen ship blocking the Suez Canal is not linked to Hillary Clinton
 
Conspiracy theorists on Facebook insist they’re all part of an international human trafficking scheme. 

Egyptian authorities are working to remove a 1,300-foot cargo ship that got stuck March 23 in the Suez Canal, a critical shipping route that connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. The boat is operated by the Evergreen Group, a Taiwan shipping conglomerate.

Some Facebook users took that as a signal of Clinton’s involvement.


Our Sources
Associated Press, "Shipping losses mount from cargo vessel stuck in Suez Canal," March 25, 2021
CBS, "While Campaigning in Montana, Clinton Reveals Secret Service Codename," May 27, 2008
Evergreen Line, "What is Evergreen Line"
Facebook post, March 24, 2021
JOC Group, EVERGREEN LINE
Newsweek, "QAnon Claims Stuck Suez Canal Ship Used by Hillary Clinton to Traffic Children," March 24, 2021
PolitiFact, "How Pizzagate went from fake news to a real problem for a D.C. business," Dec. 5, 2016
PolitiFact, "Pizzagate conspiracy theorists spread false claims about Beirut explosion, human trafficking," Aug. 7, 2020
PolitiFact, "What is QAnon, the baseless conspiracy spilling into US politics?" Aug. 27, 2020
Telegram, accessed March 25, 2021
Vesseltracker.com, EVER GIVEN
The Wall Street Journal, "Suez Canal Backlog Grows as Efforts Resume to Free Trapped Ship," March 25, 2021
The Wall Street Journal, "Suez Canal Is Blocked by Container Ship Causing Huge Traffic Jam," March 24, 2021