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Dem lawmakers attend NYC New Year’s event hosted by CCP-linked consulate: ‘Deeply concerning’

Dem lawmakers attend NYC New Year’s event hosted by CCP-linked consulate: ‘Deeply concerning’

Democrat lawmakers and a top adviser to New York City Mayor Eric Adams attended a New Year’s Eve event hosted by the office of a Chinese official who has repeatedly praised the Chinese government and denied the Uyghur genocide.  The event, which took place shortly before another New Year’s event in Times Square that was hosted by a “CCP front organization,” continues a theme of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) gaining influence in New York and surrounding states. In a website post, the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in New York announced that more than 120 guests attended a “New Year Open Day in a celebration of cultural exchange” on Sunday. “As we gather together today to celebrate the dawning of the new year, let’s build on the positive momentum of the San Francisco summit and join hands to build a community with a shared future, featuring openness, inclusiveness, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation,” Chinese Acting Consul General in New York Qian Jin said at the event. In attendance, according to the post, were New York state Sen. Leroy Comrie, state Assemblyman David Weprin, senior Adams adviser Winnie Greco, New York City Council Member Christopher Marte, Sino-American Friendship Association (SAFA) President Peter Zhang and China Institute CEO George Geh. CHINESE OFFICIAL WHO PRAISED CCP MAKES ANOTHER APPEARANCE AT TOP IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL: ‘HISTORIC CONNECTIONS’ China’s New York Consulate General has been criticized over the last few years after its consul general, Huang Ping, praised the CCP in comments and denied the Uyghur genocide. However, he continued to make appearances across the country, meeting with Democrat lawmakers along with top American institutions and universities. Several prominent venues in New York City have hosted Ping after his controversial comments, and Ping recently met with Democrat lawmakers and business leaders in Pennsylvania as well as officials at Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania and top executives at liberal media conglomerate Condé Nast. Fox News Digital previously reported on Ping’s ties to New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York Governor Kathy Hochul, both Democrats. CHINESE OFFICIAL WHO PRAISED CCP, DENIED UYGHUR GENOCIDE MEETS WITH BUSINESS LEADERS, DEM LAWMAKERS IN PA New York City also raised eyebrows by hosting another New Year’s event in Times Square with Peter Zhang’s Sino-American Friendship Association. According to an August 2022 op-ed by the Washington Post’s deputy opinion editor, “China experts have identified” SAFA as “being involved in United Front work — a global effort to propagandize on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.” The organization insisted to the outlet at the time that it was an “independent, nonprofit, non-government organization.” A Fox News Digital review found that the honorary president of the group is Xikun Yuan, a member of the 11th Standing Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). According to a 2021 report by The Diplomat, the CPPCC is “designed to liaise with non-Communist Party members – and ultimately see them work with the CCP to advance its interests.” Another report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a U.S. government agency, in 2018 said that the CPPCC is a “central part” of China’s United Front system, which works to “co-opt and neutralize sources of potential opposition to the policies and authority of its ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).” Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, told Fox News Digital that SAFA is indeed a front group for the Chinese Communist Party. “The Sino-American Friendship Organization bears many of the hallmarks of a CCP front organization: documented links to United Front work and institutions within China, cooperation and collaboration with PRC consulates and U.S.-based diplomats, and community involvement aimed [at] shaping Americans’ perception of China,” Sobolik said. “This isn’t new information, however. We’ve known SAFA had problematic connections since 2022. That the city of New York continues to associate with them is deeply concerning.” “A CCP united front organization kicked off the NYE party in Manhattan last night,” he posted on X. “At this point, with all we know about united front groups and how they operate, there’s next to no space left to plead ignorance. Fox News Digital reached out to the Democrat lawmakers in attendance at the consulate event, Mayor Adams’s office, SAFA and the Chinese consulate, but did not receive a response. Fox News Digital’s Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.

Biden’s FCC identity politics: ‘Digital discrimination’ rules could ’empower leftist activists’

Biden’s FCC identity politics: ‘Digital discrimination’ rules could ’empower leftist activists’

Federal rules to stop “digital discrimination” could put telecommunications companies in the crosshairs, regardless of intent, according to free-market advocates. The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) rules are set to take effect in mid-January, even as a coalition of conservative and libertarian-leaning groups urged Congress to scrap the regulation in a December letter, warning that it will allow “leftist activists to shake down” private companies. The FCC action stems from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which spends $65 billion to expand broadband access. The law also required the FCC to adopt rules to ensure equal high-speed broadband access, regardless of race, ethnicity, color, religion or national origin. FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel called the act the “first bipartisan civil rights law focused on the digital age.” DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION PROGRAMS TOOK A HIT IN 2023 “Congress was explicit — these rules have to ‘facilitate equal access to broadband.’ As part of this goal, Congress also told us we need to prevent and eliminate digital discrimination of access,” Rosenworcel said in a November statement after the commission approved the rules. “That means our rules would miss the mark if they cover just discriminatory intent because we would fall short of meeting our statutory obligation to ‘facilitate equal access’ to broadband.”  She added, “As a result, we define digital discrimination to include disparate treatment and disparate impact.” The FCC rules define “digital discrimination” as “Policies or practices, not justified by genuine issues of technical or economic feasibility, that (1) differentially impact consumers’ access to broadband internet access service based on their income level, race, ethnicity, color, religion or national origin, or (2) are intended to have such differential impact.”  Flipping the standard from disparate treatment to disparate impact creates opportunities for frivolous shakedowns, according to two dozen free-market groups in a Dec. 13 letter to members of Congress. “Whereas longstanding precedent has held that the government or third-party plaintiffs would have to provide evidence of intentional discrimination on the part of a business for them to be held liable under Civil Rights law, now they must only demonstrate that different groups of people use the same service at different rates,” the letter says. “In the context of digital services, this will empower leftist activists to shake down any telecommunications company that tries to expand broadband to unserved areas under the threat of a lawsuit.” The letter was signed by heads and top staffers from Americans for Tax Reform, American Commitment, the American Consumer Institute, Digital First Project, Citizen Outreach, Frontiers of Freedom, Digital Liberty, the Innovation Economy Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Open Competition Center, the Taxpayer Protection Alliance, the Foundation for American Innovation, the National Taxpayer Union, the Center for Individual Freedom, the James Madison Institute, the Consumer Choice Center, the Committee for Justice, the Property Rights Alliance, the Pelican Institute, the American Family Association, AFA Action, the Family Research Council, Advancing American Freedom, and the American Principles Project. FCC COMMISSIONER BLASTS BIDEN’S ‘DIGITAL EQUITY’ PLAN AS ‘UNLAWFUL POWER GRAB’ The letter contends that the FCC is “out of control” and had used a one-page authorization in the infrastructure law to justify its 218 pages of new regulations to “enrich their activist friends.” The FCC will have enhanced power to regulate internet service providers on matters such as network maintenance, internet speed, late fees, pricing and mandatory arbitration. “As the branch of government most representative of and responsive to the people, Congress is tasked with protecting Americans from bureaucratic overreach and the economic devastation that may accompany it,” the letter to members of Congress continues. “We hope you will hold the FCC accountable for this power-grab and restore the rule of law, rather than the rule of lawfare, to internet service.” The FCC declined Fox News’ request for comment on the letter, but it referred to Rosenworcel’s statement about the digital discrimination standards.  The rules were set to go into effect 60 days after the commission’s approval on Nov. 15, which passed on a 3-2 vote. The FCC can investigate possible instances of discrimination of broadband access, facilitate mediation or penalize companies for violating the rules. The FCC will review discrimination complaints from consumers through a new online portal. An FCC press release says, “The rules focus on the very real problem of outcome, such as when decisions untainted by discriminatory intent nevertheless cause different communities to receive different access to broadband services.” In the lead-up to developing the rules, the FCC established the Task Force to Prevent Digital Discrimination, which conducted public meetings in Baltimore, Los Angeles and Topeka, Kansas, among other locations. “We read the record from front to back. It demonstrated that there are gaps in access for low-income, rural, Tribal, and minority communities,” Rosenworcel said. “It showed that the digital divide often tracks the residential redlining that came into existence under the National Housing Act of 1934. It showed that many of the communities that lack adequate access to broadband today are the same areas that suffer from longstanding patterns of residential segregation and economic disadvantage.”

Sen. Sanders calls for US to end funding of Israeli PM Netanyahu’s ‘immoral’ war in Middle East

Sen. Sanders calls for US to end funding of Israeli PM Netanyahu’s ‘immoral’ war in Middle East

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., urged his congressional colleagues on Tuesday to reject the more than $10 billion in military funding for Israel that is being considered amid Israeli forces’ “grossly disproportionate” and “immoral” response to Hamas terrorists’ Oct. 7 attack. Sanders said in a statement that he is calling on Congress to reject the $10.1 billion in “unconditional military aid” being considered for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “right-wing government to continue its brutal war against the Palestinian people.” “The issue we face with Israel-Gaza is not complicated,” Sanders said. “While we recognize that Hamas’ barbaric terrorist attack began this war, we must also recognize that Israel’s military response has been grossly disproportionate, immoral, and in violation of international law. And, most importantly for Americans, we must understand that Israel’s war against the Palestinian people has been significantly waged with U.S. bombs, artillery shells, and other forms of weaponry. And the results have been catastrophic.” More than 22,000 people have been killed in Gaza and Israel since Hamas launched its largest attack against the Jewish State in decades on Oct. 7, leading to Israeli forces launching a ground operation into the territory. Civilians have repeatedly been caught in the crossfire, with thousands having been wounded, and many others having been taken hostage by Hamas and raped, tortured or murdered. ISRAEL DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS SEVERAL THOUSAND HAMAS FIGHTERS REMAIN IN GAZA Sanders noted that an estimated 57,000 Palestinians have been injured in the conflict. “Since the start of the war 1.9 million Palestinian men, women, and children have been driven from their homes – 85% of the total population of Gaza,” the lawmaker said. According to an analysis of satellite radar data, nearly 70% of the housing units in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged by Israeli bombardment.” “Today, not only are the vast majority of people in Gaza homeless, they lack food, water, medical supplies, and fuel,” he continued. “A recent UN report indicates that half of the population of about 2.2 million are at risk of starvation and 90% say that they regularly go without food for a whole day. The chief economist at the World Food Program said the humanitarian disaster in Gaza is among the worst he has ever seen. This cannot be allowed to continue.” The proposed military aid for Israel is part of an emergency foreign aid package that would also allocate money for Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific region and U.S. border security. Sanders said U.S. taxpayers “must no longer be complicit in destroying the lives of innocent men, women, and children in Gaza.” TOP HAMAS OFFICIAL KILLED IN BEIRUT EXPLOSION, HEZBOLLAH MEDIA SAYS Last month, Sanders voted against a procedural motion to advance the $110 billion emergency foreign aid package that includes $10.1 billion for Israel. He was the only member of the Democratic caucus who voted against the measure. Before the vote, Sanders similarly criticized Netanyahu’s military response and wrote a letter to his Senate Democratic Caucus colleagues asking them to oppose the measure. “I do not think we should be appropriating $10.1 billion for the right-wing, extremist Netanyahu government to continue its current military strategy,” he wrote in the Dec. 5 letter. “What the Netanyahu government is doing is immoral, it is in violation of international law, and the United States should not be complicit in those actions.” Sanders wrote a week later in a letter to President Biden that Israel’s military response in Gaza has become a “mass atrocity” and that it “would be irresponsible to provide an additional $10.1 billion in military aid” beyond defensive systems that protect Israeli civilians against missile and rocket attacks. The senator warned Biden that “Israel’s military campaign will be remembered among some of the darkest chapters of our modern history” and detailed the death and injury toll at the time. He also said the destruction in Gaza has surpassed the destruction caused by U.S. bombing in Dresden, Germany, and Japanese cities during World War II.

Japan probes deadly Tokyo runway collision for negligence

Japan probes deadly Tokyo runway collision for negligence

Reports suggest that one of the planes may not have had permission to be on the runway. Japanese police are investigating the deadly collision of two planes at Tokyo’s Haneda airport for possible professional negligence. The incident saw a Japan Airlines (JAL) Airbus A350 engulfed in flames after hitting a turboprop aircraft crewed by six members of the coastguard. All 379 people on board A350 were safely evacuated, but only one survived from the smaller aircraft, which was headed to aid in the rescue of victims of Monday’s earthquake. Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department said on Wednesday that it will investigate the possibility that professional negligence led to the deaths and injuries, news outlets including Kyodo news agency, Nikkei Asia and Nippon TV reported. A police spokesperson said a special investigation unit had set up at the airport and was investigating the runway and planning to interview people involved but declined to comment on whether they were looking into possible professional negligence. Japan Airlines said in a statement on Tuesday that the aircraft had recognised and repeated the landing permission from air traffic control before approaching and touching down. According to air traffic control recordings available at LiveATC.net, the JAL plane was cleared to land at 17:45 local time (08:45 GMT), minutes before authorities say the collision occurred. The reason for the coastguard plane’s presence on the runway remained unclear. Broadcaster NHK reported that the control tower had instructed the turboprop aircraft to hold short of the runway. Second investigation In a separate development, the Japan Safety Transport Board (JTSB) says it is also conducting its own inquiry into the crash. The investigation involves collaboration with French and British authorities, as the Airbus aircraft was constructed in France, and its Rolls-Royce engines were manufactured in Britain. Airbus is also dispatching technical advisers to support the investigation. According to the Kyodo news agency, the JTSB has successfully retrieved flight and voice recorders from the coastguard aircraft involved in the collision. Japan has not experienced a significant aviation incident since 1985, when a JAL jumbo jet crashed in the central Gunma region while en route from Tokyo to Osaka, resulting in the tragic loss of 520 passengers and crew; an incident that ranks among the deadliest plane crashes globally. Adblock test (Why?)

Can South Africa’s ICJ case against Israel stop war in Gaza?

Can South Africa’s ICJ case against Israel stop war in Gaza?

Last week, South Africa became the first country to file a suit against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, ramping up international pressure on Tel Aviv to stop the deadly and relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip that it launched on October 7, 2023, and which has killed more than 22,000 civilians, a significant number of them children. In the 84-page suit which South Africa filed with the court on December 29, it details evidence of brutality being perpetrated in Gaza and asks the Court – the United Nations body for resolving interstate disputes – to urgently declare that Israel has breached its responsibilities under international law since October 7. The move is the latest in a long list of actions that Pretoria has taken since the start of the war on Gaza, including loudly and persistently condemning Israel’s attacks on Gaza and the West Bank, recalling the South African ambassador from Israel, referring the suffering of Palestinians to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and calling for an extraordinary meeting of BRICS countries to deliberate the conflict. The ICC takes on cases of alleged crimes committed by individuals, not states. Here’s a breakdown of the ICJ case: What are South Africa’s allegations against Israel? South Africa has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention which defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”. Genocidal actions listed in the suit include the killing of Palestinians in Gaza in large numbers, especially children; the destruction of their homes; their expulsion and displacement; as well as enforcing a blockade on food, water and medical assistance to the strip. They also include the imposition of measures preventing Palestinian births by destroying essential health services crucial for the survival of pregnant women and babies. All these actions, the suit reads, are “intended to bring about their [Palestinians] destruction as a group”. Pretoria further blames Israel for failing to prevent and prosecute incitement to genocide, with specific reference to statements coming from Israeli officials throughout the war that have sought to justify the killings and destruction in Gaza. South Africa has also specially requested that the ICJ move urgently to prevent Israel from committing further crimes in the strip – likely by issuing an order for Tel Aviv to halt its invasion. That request will be prioritised, the ICJ said in a statement, but did not specify a timeline. South Africa’s documentation is particularly needed amid heightened disinformation around the war, and for other, wide-reaching purposes, said Mai El-Sadany, a human rights lawyer and director of The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. “The proceedings are important in slowing the normalisation of any mass atrocities committed by Israel; they send a message that if a country commits mass atrocities, as Israel is doing, it must expect to be brought before an international court, for its record to be critiqued against international norms, and for its reputation on the international stage to take a hit,” she said. Members of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign protest outside the Israeli consular office in Cape Town, South Africa, October 11, 2023 [Nic Bothma/Reuters] What evidence has South Africa cited? South Africa asserts that statements made by Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have demonstrated “genocidal intent”. For example, the suit cites Netanyahu’s comparison of Palestinians to the Amalek, a biblical nation that God instructed the Israelites to destroy. The biblical verse states: “Now go and smite Amalek … kill both man and woman, infant.” Furthermore, in his December 26 statement, Netanyahu said that despite the extensive destruction of Gaza and the killing of thousands, “we are deepening the fighting in the coming days, and this will be a long battle”. Several other statements, including ones in which Israeli officials have portrayed the people of Gaza as a force of “darkness” and Israel as a force of “light”, have also been cited in the suit. South Africa adds that the “scope of the Israeli military’s operations – its indiscriminate bombings and executions of civilians, as well as Israel’s blockade of food, water, medicine, fuel, shelter and other humanitarian assistance”, are proof of its claims. Those actions have pushed the strip to the “brink of famine”, the suit claims. Besides genocide, South Africa claims that Israel is committing other violations of international law in the Gaza Strip, including launching an assault on Palestinian culture by attacking sites of “religion, education, art, science, historic monuments, hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected”. Have similar cases been filed before? Yes. Under the Genocide Convention, nation-states may file charges of genocide against other countries whether or not they are directly involved in the conflict. In 2019, The Gambia, on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, petitioned the court against Myanmar over its atrocities against the Rohingya people. Israel and South Africa are both parties to the ICJ, meaning its rulings are binding on both of them. But while the ICJ has more weight than the UN Security Council where Israel is tightly shielded by the US, the court lacks enforcement power. In fact, the ICJ’s orders have been ignored in some cases with no serious consequences. In March 2022, for example, one month after Russia invaded Ukraine, Kyiv filed a case against Russia at the Court. In that case, Ukraine also asked the ICJ to lay down emergency measures to stop Russia’s aggression. The court did indeed order Moscow to halt military operations shortly after, stating that it was “profoundly concerned” by the assault on Ukraine. Nevertheless, more than a year later, the war in Europe continues. What happens next? South African authorities confirmed Tuesday that the ICJ has fixed a hearing for January 11-12. “Our lawyers are currently preparing for this,” Clayson Monyela, spokesperson for South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, posted on X, formerly Twitter. Just to be clear. The ICJ has

Israel’s war on Gaza: List of key events, day 89

Israel’s war on Gaza: List of key events, day 89

EXPLAINER A drone strike in Lebanon killed senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri – here are the latest updates. Here’s how things stand on Wednesday, January 3, 2024: Latest updates: The Israeli army has launched attacks on Syria and Lebanon. It announced on X on Tuesday that it attacked Syrian military infrastructure and Hezbollah “terrorist infrastructure”. A drone strike hit a Hamas office in Beirut’s Hezbollah stronghold Dahiyeh, killing six people including senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri on Tuesday, Lebanon’s state news agency reported. The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) posted on X that on Tuesday night, “Iranian-backed Houthis fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen into the Southern Red Sea.” While multiple commercial ships reported their impact on surrounding waters, none reported damage. The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting to discuss peace and security regarding the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea at 3pm New York time [20:00 GMT] on Wednesday. #FrPrez | The Security Council will hold a meeting on the maintenance of international peace and security, in particular on the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. 🗓️ Wednesday, 3 January – 3PM📺 UNWebTV https://t.co/Lv2W6r5o1w pic.twitter.com/cxZeSZraco — La France à l’ONU 🇫🇷🇺🇳 (@franceonu) January 2, 2024 Human impact and fighting: The number of Palestinians in Gaza killed since the outbreak of violence on October 7 is now 22,185, said Gaza’s health ministry on Tuesday. At least 57, 000 have been injured. UN humanitarian affairs agency OCHA reported more demolitions of Palestinian structures. The latest destruction took place on Tuesday in the At-Tur neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem. Demolition reported today in At Tur, #EastJerusalem, #WestBank, occupied #Palestinian territory Statistics on demolition and displacement: https://t.co/hG9VUlAUXf pic.twitter.com/9pIrgzbmi3 — OCHA oPt (Palestine) (@ochaopt) January 2, 2024 Diplomacy: Israel has not officially responded to the killing of al-Arouri but Netanyahu’s adviser Mark Regev, told the US outlet MSNBC that Israel does not take responsibility for this attack. He added, “Whoever did it, it must be clear: this was not an attack on the Lebanese state.” “We need to avoid conflict between Israel and Lebanon,” Nicolas de Riviere, the current UN Security Council president and French UN envoy, has told Al Jazeera. US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller rejected statements from Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir about the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza. “Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land,” said a statement published on Tuesday. Israel is not “another star on the American flag”, said Israeli National Security Minister Ben-Gvir after the US State Department issued the statement. Gaza team leader of the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, Gemma Connell, condemned the Israeli attack on the Red Crescent-run El Amal City Hospital in Khan Younis, which killed at least five people, including a five-day-old child. She said that “there is no safe space in Gaza, and the world should be ashamed”. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus echoed Connell’s sentiments about the bombing. “Today’s bombings are unconscionable,” he said. In a statement released on Tuesday, Malaysia endorsed South Africa’s appeal to the International Court of Justice against Israel. The court hearings are scheduled for January 11 and 12 at The Hague. Raids in the West Bank Israel continues its raids in several areas of the occupied West Bank. Israeli military vehicles are infiltrating the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem and bulldozers are destroying infrastructure, Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut reported from occupied East Jerusalem. They are also surrounding the Tulkarem governorate hospital and preventing the team at Al Jazeera Arabic from covering the raid. There is another Israeli raid on Nablus, where fierce clashes have been reported. In Qalqilya, the army is arresting multiple Palestinians, Salhut reported. Since October 7, 324 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank, Salhut reported. Adblock test (Why?)