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Viral clip shows man apparently stopping Olympian Eileen Gu from leaving after a selfie in Beijing
- A recent video shows a man seemingly trying to stop Olympic gold medalist Eileen Gu from leaving after they take a selfie together.
- The athlete was out exercising with her mother in Beijing when the stranger asked for a photo.
- The clip of their encounter, which has since gone viral, angered Chinese social media users, who called the man “rude.”
- “I am a loyal fan of Eileen Gu,” he explained in a video uploaded to Douyin after the encounter. “I didn’t try to stop her from leaving. There happened to be a vehicle coming when she tried to cross the road. I asked her to be mindful of road safety. I definitely didn’t intend to hold her back.”
A now-viral video shows a man seemingly trying to stop Olympic gold medalist skier Eileen Gu from leaving after they take a selfie together in Beijing.
The 18-year-old athlete, who often jogs around the city’s streets, was accompanied by her mother riding a bicycle at the time of the incident, which occurred on Chaoyang Road.
US State Department criticizes China’s human rights record in latest report
- The U.S. State Department’s latest global human rights report accused China of meddling in Hong Kong’s political affairs by revising its electoral process and imposing new laws. The department published similar findings in an earlier Hong Kong Policy Act Report on March 31.
- The report also highlighted the targeting of ethnic minorities in China and Beijing’s efforts to detain overseas critics.
- Beijing previously published its own report listing human rights violations committed by the U.S., which it accused of “playing with fake democracy.”
The U.S. State Department has once again accused the Chinese government of several offenses in its latest global human rights report released on Tuesday.
The department’s 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, which cited research by diplomats, NGOs and news outlets’ accounts as sources, came less than two weeks after the department released its Hong Kong Policy Act Report, an annual publication mandated by the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992.
Australian journalist Chen Lei faces spy charges in closed-door Beijing trial
- Australian journalist Cheng Lei, an anchor for Chinese state-run outlet CGTN for nearly a decade, faced allegations of “supplying state secrets” at a closed-door trial in Beijing court on Thursday.
- Lei was originally detained in 2020 before she was formally arrested in February last year over state secrets charges.
- International journalists and diplomats were not permitted to enter the courtroom.
- “This is deeply concerning, unsatisfactory and regrettable,” said Graham Fletcher, Australia’s ambassador in Beijing. “We can have no confidence in the validity of a process which is conducted in secret.”
- The court deferred its verdict when the trial ended in less than a day.
An Australian journalist accused by the Chinese government of “supplying state secrets” faced a closed-door trial in Beijing court on Thursday.
Cheng Lei, a television anchor for the Chinese state-run outlet CGTN for nearly a decade, was tried in court after being detained for over 19 months.
Chinese man charged for plot to coerce ‘fugitive’ expats in US to return to China
- A Chinese national has been charged with conspiring to act as an illegal agent of the Chinese government in the U.S.
- Sun Hoi Ying, 53, reportedly hired U.S. private investigators from February 2017 to February 2022 to coerce supposed fugitives of the Chinese government to return to China.
- In one case, Sun hired a law enforcement officer to threaten a target for refusing to comply with the demands of the Chinese government.
- In another, he hired private investigators to gather personal information on a Chinese dissident living in the U.S.
- Sun, who remains at large in China, operated under Beijing’s "Operation Fox Hunt," a plan announced in 2014 that aims to repatriate supposed Chinese fugitives.
A Chinese national was charged in a New York federal court with attempting to coerce targeted Chinese individuals in the U.S. while acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government.
Court documents describe how 53-year-old Sun Hoi Ying hired private investigators while he operated out of the U.S. from February 2017 to February 2022.
‘I’m starving’: Chloe Kim asks reporters for snacks on her way to achieving Olympics gold medal history
- Chloe Kim, the back-to-back Olympic gold medal champion in the snowboard halfpipe, asked reporters for snacks after hunger set in during a post-event press conference.
- “Also, if anybody has some snacks in their pockets, maybe?” she asked. “I’m starving. It’s lunch time.”
- Members of the media immediately handed over snacks and asked if she wanted to eat right then.
- “Thank you,” Kim said. “It’s not a hurry. I’ll eat this in a bit.”
The back-to-back Olympic gold medal champion in the snowboard halfpipe, Chloe Kim, announced she was hungry and asked reporters for snacks during a post-event press conference.
“Also, if anybody has some snacks in their pockets, maybe?” she asked after answering a reporter’s question. “I’m starving. It’s lunch time.”
China warns foreign athletes will face ‘certain punishment’ for speech not in the ‘Olympic spirit’
- Foreign athletes set to participate in the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing have been warned that “any behavior or speech that is against the Olympic spirit” is subject to “certain punishment.”
- A rule established by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) charter similarly prohibits any kind of “demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda” in any Olympic area.
- The maximum punishment that an Olympic athlete may face for engaging in political action has yet to be confirmed.
Foreign athletes competing in the upcoming 2022 Winter Games in Beijing have been warned against making political statements.
A member of the Beijing Organizing Committee told reporters on Tuesday that Olympic athletes’ remarks and behavior “will be protected” if they are “in line with the Olympic spirit.” However, athletes may be held accountable for saying or doing anything “against Chinese laws and regulations,” reported The Washington Post.
Beijing suggests Canadian mail transmitted Omicron, Ottawa says the claim is ‘extraordinary’
- Beijing said its first Omicron case was someone who has not made contact with another confirmed case and has not traveled outside the city in the last 14 days.
- The patient, however, received a package from Canada which allegedly tested positive for the COVID-19 variant, according to Chinese officials.
- In response, Canada said the risk of such a transmission is “extremely low,” echoing similar observations by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A Canadian package allegedly contaminated with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is responsible for the lone case of Omicron infection detected in Beijing, according to the city’s center for disease control.
Beijing on Saturday placed an office building in lockdown after an employee tested positive for Omicron, the city’s first recorded case of the variant, according to CNN.
Mother in China criticized for taking 6-year-old to postgraduate exam so he could ‘feel the atmosphere’
A mother in China took her 6-year-old son to witness “gaokao” — China’s annual college entrance examinations — so he could “feel the atmosphere of postgraduate examination.”
Sparking controversy: The mom, identified by her surname Li, drew online criticism for bringing her son to an exam spot in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, reported the state-run Global Times.
US applies for visas for 18 officials to attend Beijing Winter Olympics amid diplomatic boycott
The U.S. government is apparently backpedaling on its earlier pronouncement that it will be implementing a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
A difference in interpretation: Washington allegedly submitted applications for three-month Chinese visas for 18 American officials who will provide “security support operations,” reported South China Morning Post.
US officials to boycott 2022 Beijing Games due to China’s alleged human rights ‘atrocities’
U.S. government officials will reportedly not be joining Team USA athletes at the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics due to alleged human rights “atrocities” committed by the Chinese government.
A statement against abuse: On Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki cited Beijing’s alleged genocide against the Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang region as the main reason for the boycott, reported Reuters.
Uyghur genocide accusations prompts calls for diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics from US lawmakers
Concerns over the safety of U.S. athletes in the Winter Olympics in Beijing are mounting as President Joe Biden mulls a “diplomatic boycott” and questions about the disappearance of tennis star Peng Shuai remain unanswered.
Driving the news: Biden confirmed last week that the U.S. is “considering” a diplomatic boycott of the event, which is scheduled to take place in the Chinese capital and nearby towns from Feb. 4-20, 2022. The move is intended to protest the government’s human rights abuses, primarily its alleged genocide of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
Australian Woman Fired, to Be Deported for Breaking Beijing Quarantine to Go Jogging
An Australian woman who had just arrived in Beijing was fired and is set to be deported after she broke the quarantine rule created to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Only identified by her surname as Liang, the woman is an executive for the German pharmaceutical giant Bayer and had recently returned to China on March 14, according to Shanghaiist.
