PRC HACKERS TARGET THE PHONES OF TRUMP AND HARRIS STAFF
In the run-up to the U.S. presidential election, PRC hackers have targeted the cellphones of campaign staff for former President (and Republican nominee) Donald Trump, his running-mate JD Vance, and current Vice President (and Democratic nominee) Kamala Harris. The FBI announced that it is investigating "unauthorized access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure by actors affiliated with the PRC." It is unclear what data the Chinese hackers were after, or whether they obtained it. U.S. officials believe China is targeting both presidential campaigns as part of a larger cyberespionage operation. (Associated Press, October 25, 2024)
CHINA, INDIA REACH BORDER DEAL
China and India have reached an agreement on patrolling their shared Himalayan border, easing strained relations between the two countries following a deadly skirmish four years ago. Although the agreement, which comes after weeks of negotiations between Beijing and New Delhi, does not resolve the border dispute, it will help to restore the status quo that prevailed there before 2020. "Restoring patrolling rights is the closest we can get to attempting to reach the pre-2020 situation. It also sets the stage for repairing the ties between the two countries," says Deependra Singh Hooda, a retired lieutenant general who led India’s Northern Command.
For their part, Chinese officials and experts see the agreement as a way to loosen U.S. control. "To maintain its global hegemony, the U.S. constantly instigates India to engage in an arms race and buy weapons and equipment to challenge China hoping that India can become an important part of America's Indo-Pacific strategy and to turn India into a bridgehead or important chess piece for containing China," former PLA officer Song Zhongping has argued. (New York Times, October 22, 2024)
CPC TIGHTENS CONTROLS ON SCHOLARS
The CPC is tightening its grip on Chinese intellectuals, both at home and abroad. Academics have long been under the CPC's oversight, but recently controls have been tightened beyond traditionally sensitive topics such as Taiwan, Tibet, and human rights to include international relations and China's struggling economy. Some scholars have been detained on undisclosed charges, fired by their institutions, faced administrative punishment, and/or had their social media accounts cancelled. This year, Zhu Hengpeng, the deputy director of the Institute of Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was detained for comments he made online. And in March, Wu Qiang, formerly a political science professor at Tsinghua University researching the 2014 pro-democracy "umbrella" movement in Hong Kong, was placed under house arrest. (Financial Times, October 22, 2024)
CHINA, VATICAN EXTEND BISHOP APPOINTMENT DEAL
Beijing and the Vatican have extended an agreement concerning the appointment of Chinese bishops. The Holy See, which does not have official diplomatic relations with China, said it “remains dedicated to furthering the respectful and constructive dialogue” for the “benefit of the Catholic Church in China and the Chinese people,” and hopes to set up a permanent office in the country. The agreement was first reached in 2018 and subsequently renewed in 2020 and 2022. Critics argue that the Vatican has “sold out” members of the underground Catholic church, some of whom served long jail terms, and criticize Pope Francis for sharing his divine authority with Beijing. (South China Morning Post, October 23, 2024)
[EDITOR'S NOTE: The 2018 agreement ended a 60-year struggle between China and the Holy See, which began in 1958 when Beijing ordained two bishops without papal approval. Under the agreement, Beijing recognized the Pope as universal head of the Roman Catholic Church in China for the first time. China has about 12 million Catholics, divided between a government-run church controlled by the CPC and an underground church loyal to the Pope.]
TAIWAN REJECTS SOUTH AFRICA'S DEMAND TO MOVE ITS OFFICE
Taiwan's Foreign Minister, Lin Chia-lung, has rejected South Africa's demand for it to relocate its liaison office out of the country's capital, Pretoria, before the end of October or be forced to close. Lin said the Taipei office will not relocate because South Africa's move was "a unilateral violation" of a 1997 bilateral agreement on the operation of the two sides' offices in their respective capitals. Conversely, a PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson "commended South Africa's right decision" to move the Taipei Liaison Office. (Nikkei Asia, October 21, 2024)