3/30/2021

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

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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

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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

3/26/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 26, 2021

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U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to reporters as he holds his first formal news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., March 25, 2021
Biden: American Rescue Plan is sowing signs of hope for U.S. economy

Mar. 26, Reuters - U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday said the economic outlook is brightening thanks to the recent passage of his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, and a majority of economists now expect growth this year to exceed six percent.

“Since we passed the American Rescue Plan, we’re starting to see new signs of hope in our economy,” Biden said during his first press conference since taking office in January. “Since it was passed, a majority ... of economic forecasters have significantly increased their projections on the economic growth that’s going to take place this year. They’re now projecting it will exceed 6% growth in GDP (gross domestic product).”


Indeed, that may understate how quickly the economy may grow this year as COVID-19 vaccine rollouts gather pace, allowing greater freedom of movement and activity, and as the stimulus bill boosts consumer spending.

Just last week, Federal Reserve officials signaled they expect growth of 6.5% this year, which if achieved would mark the fastest expansion since the 1980s, and some private forecasters have predicted the economy will grow in excess of 7% this year. That would mark a dramatic upward swing following the 3.5% contraction suffered in 2020, the steepest annual downturn in more than seven decades.

The first-term Democrat also pointed to signs of a recovering job market. The number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits fell below 700,000 for the first time since the pandemic triggered a deep recession roughly one year ago.      continue to read

MARCH 25, 2021
President Biden Holds News Conference
President Biden held his first official news conference in the White House East Room, announcing at the top of his remarks a new goal of 200 million vaccination shots in his first 100 days. The president’s original goal was 100 shots, which was surpassed around March 19. He answered a range of questions on immigration policy, the filibuster rule, relations with China, and voting rights. President Biden called the Republican attempts to limit voting rights in the U.S. “un-American” and “sick” and later told reporters that it was his expectation to run for reelection in 2024.

President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, March 25, 2021, in Washington.
Biden reveals 2024 plans and doubles vaccine goals in first press conference


Mar. 26, Washington -- President Biden on Thursday revealed he plans to seek a second term in the White House in 2024 and he said he expects Vice President Kamala Harris would again be his running mate. Mr. Biden talked about his plans in 2024 in a roughly hourlong press conference, the first of his presidency, where he also announced he would doubling his vaccine goals to 200 million doses in his first 100 days and would be detailing an infrastructure plan on Friday.

Mr. Biden has not yet filed for reelection, while former President Trump had already done so at this point in his presidency. But the president told CBS News chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes it is his "plan" to run again.

"That is my expectation," Mr. Biden said, although he added that he doesn't normally plan that far in advance.

The president fielded questions from reporters for roughly an hour on a range of topics, including the ongoing crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, the legislative filibuster and foreign policy challenges his administration is confronting.

At the start of his remarks, Mr. Biden said he is increasing his goal for vaccine doses administered in his first 100 days in office to 200 million. The nation surpassed his initial target of 100 million shot last week, on the 58th day of his presidency.

With Mr. Biden's sweeping $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress and signed into law, the president revealed the details of his next major initiative, infrastructure, will be announced Friday during a trip to Pittsburgh.

The proposal will address both physical and technological infrastructure, the president said, "so that we can compete and create significant numbers of really good paying jobs." Mr. Biden said "the future rests" on whether the U.S. has the best airports, ports, railroads and roadways to facilitate business. 


Mr. Biden was repeatedly pressed on his administration's plan to address the flood of unaccompanied minors crossing the southern border into the U.S. and whether he favors changes to the legislative filibuster, a rule under which 60 votes are needed to end debate on a measure and move to a final vote. He was not, however, asked about the coronavirus pandemic or the economy.     quoted from


Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland (Studies of Central Asia and the Caucasus)

Eastern Turkestan, now known as Xinjiang or the New Territory, makes up a sixth of China's land mass. Absorbed by the Qing in the 1880s and reconquered by Mao in 1949, this Turkic-Muslim region of China's remote northwest borders on formerly Soviet Central Asia, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Mongolia, and Tibet, Will Xinjiang participate in twenty-first century ascendancy, or will nascent Islamic radicalism in Xinjiang expand the orbit of instability in a dangerous part of the world? This comprehensive survey of contemporary Xinjiang is the result of a major collaborative research project begun in 1998. The authors have combined their fieldwork experience, linguistic skills, and disciplinary expertise to assemble the first multifaceted introduction to Xinjiang. The volume surveys the region's geography; its history of military and political subjugation to China; economic, social, and commercial conditions; demography, public health, and ecology; and patterns of adaption, resistance, opposition, and evolving identities.     source from

On the campaign trail Oct. 28, 2020, in Wilmington, Delaware, Joe Biden talks about the need to build up the Affordable Care Act
What the American Rescue Plan says about President Biden’s health care priorities – and what they mean for you

Mar. 25 - As millions of Americans receive COVID-19 vaccines, the Affordable Care Act just got a booster shot of its own.


After 11 years of existential threat and months after an argument before the Supreme Court, the ACA has been strengthened under President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, the US$1.9 trillion economic relief package. This means greater access to health insurance at lower costs for millions of Americans.

The ARP is the most noteworthy expansion of health insurance benefits since the passage of the landmark legislation in 2010. Specifically, it contains an important extension of financial assistance to Americans who purchase health insurance on the ACA’s private insurance exchanges.

As a health law professor who focuses on health care finance and delivery, I see this as a key moment to gain insight into President Biden’s preferred policy choices as he seeks to improve health care access and financing in the United States.     more to read