
US government employee blocked from leaving China amid tensions
'We are tracking this case very closely and are engaged with Chinese officials to resolve the situation as quickly as possible,' a State Department spokesperson said.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is part of the federal Department of Commerce.
The individual's name and whether the person was detained were not disclosed.
The Chinese embassy in Washington and the U.S. Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Washington Post reported on Sunday that a U.S. citizen who works for the Commerce Department had traveled to China several months ago to visit family. The man was being prevented from leaving the country after he failed to disclose on his visa application that he worked for the U.S. government, the newspaper said, citing sources.
Beijing has used exit bans on both Chinese and foreign nationals in connection with civil disputes, regulatory enforcement and criminal investigations. Analysts say the tactic is at times used to crack down on local dissent and also as diplomatic leverage in disputes with other nations.
Washington and Beijing have had friction for years over issues ranging from tariffs to the origins of COVID-19 and Taiwan.
Chenyue Mao, a Wells Fargo banker, has also been blocked from leaving China. Beijing's foreign ministry said on Monday she was involved in a criminal case and obliged to cooperate with an investigation.
Mao was the latest of several executives from foreign corporations to be stopped as they tried to depart China.
The U.S. bank suspended all employee travel to China after Mao's exit ban, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters last week, saying Mao was a U.S. citizen. - Reuters
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The Star
4 minutes ago
- The Star
Singapore rail operator to pay lower fine of S$2.4m for line disruption; must invest at least S$600k to boost reliability
SINGAPORE: Rail operator SMRT will pay a lower fine of S$2.4 million (US$1.87 million) for a major six-day disruption on the East-West Line in September 2024, after it submitted representations to the Land Transport Authority (LTA). This is down from the financial penalty of S$3 million that LTA intended to hand out in June when the investigation findings into the incident were released. Announcing the updated penalty in a statement on July 25, LTA said the penalty will go to the Public Transport Fund to help lower-income families with their public transport expenditures. The authority added that it had directed SMRT to invest a minimum of S$600,000 to strengthen its capabilities, and address areas for improvement from the incident, so as to improve service reliability. 'In reaching this decision, LTA took into consideration the considerable challenges SMRT had faced in planning and executing their overhaul regime for the Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) trains, particularly in procuring the necessary spare parts for the overhaul due to global supply chain disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.' The incident, which involved a faulty part on a first-generation KHI train, downed MRT services between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations and affected about one in six train trips daily from Sept 25 to 30 in 2024. An LTA spokesperson told The Straits Times that SMRT will need to channel S$600,000 towards improving its capabilities within a year, and submit a declaration and documented proof of this. In a Facebook post shortly after LTA's statement, SMRT Trains president Lam Sheau Kai said the operator will strengthen its direct engagement with original equipment manufacturers of trains and systems. The operator will also deepen its technical and engineering expertise through closer collaboration with these companies. On LTA's directive to invest a minimum of S$600,000 in beefing up its capabilities, Lam said the development and upskilling of its workforce have long been SMRT's priorities. In addition, the operator will continue supporting the secondment of LTA engineers to SMRT – an initiative introduced in 2018. It will also work closely with LTA and Alstom, the manufacturer of the new R151 trains, to roll out the fleet progressively. By 2026, there will be 106 R151 trains on the North-South and East-West lines. As at June 29, 61 of these trains were in service. The last of the KHI trains will be phased out by September. Investigations into the disruption showed that SMRT had extended the interval between overhauls for the faulty train without a detailed engineering and risk assessment. On its part, the operator had flagged supply chain disruptions arising from the pandemic, which delayed the delivery of new trains meant to replace the first-generation models and spare parts needed for overhauls. LTA had originally notified SMRT of its intention to impose the S$3 million penalty on May 30, and gave the operator two weeks to submit its representations. SMRT did so on June 6. While the details of SMRT's submission were not disclosed, representations may include reasons why the operator believes it should not be penalised as well as other applicable mitigating factors. LTA reviewed SMRT's representations before a notice of the penalty was sent to the rail operator on July 25. SMRT has 14 days to appeal to the transport minister if it wishes. If that happens, the final decision lies with the minister, who can opt to reject the appeal, or allow it and change LTA's decision. Responding to ST's query, Lam did not say if SMRT would lodge an appeal with Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow. But he said the company had received LTA's notice to impose the penalty and noted that LTA had considered its representations. LTA reiterated that Singapore's rail system continues to be one of the most reliable worldwide. Since 2019, the mean kilometres between failure of the MRT network has remained above the one million train-km target, it noted. This means MRT trains travelled for more than one million kilometres between delays of more than five minutes. The revised S$2.4 million penalty is the second-highest to be levied on a rail operator, after the S$5.4 million fine that SMRT incurred over a 2015 disruption that crippled the entire North-South and East-West lines for more than two hours during the evening peak period. In June, LTA said a S$3 million penalty for the September 2024 disruption was 'proportionate' to the circumstances surrounding the incident. The authority said it also considered the cost that SMRT had borne from the repairs, and from providing free bus and shuttle train services at the affected stations. Investigations pointed to degraded grease as the likely cause of the incident. This led to a faulty part of the train's undercarriage falling out on the morning of Sept 25, 2024. The part – an axle box, which holds the train's wheels to the axle, a rod connecting a pair of wheels – was dislodged near Dover station while the train was being withdrawn from service to Ulu Pandan Depot. This caused one of the train's 12 bogies – a structure below the train carriage – to derail. The six-carriage train could continue travelling, as the other 11 bogies remained on the rails. But the derailed portion of the third carriage caused extensive damage to 2.55km of track and trackside equipment, such as power cables and the third rail, which supplies power to trains. Associate Professor Walter Theseira, a transport economist at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, told ST that in the context of rail operations, the $600,000 requirement for improvements is not a very significant amount. It could fund reviews and process improvements, but would not suffice for any substantial engineering work. He also said new trains are 'not a cure for reliability by themselves', as they will result in better reliability only after teething issues have been sorted out. Prof Theseira also believes LTA should examine its own capability to judge the quality of a maintenance regime. 'While the operator is on the ground and has first-hand knowledge, it may also be that the regulator should have a well-formed second opinion.' - The Straits Times/ANN
![[UPDATED] Chinese student in private university stabbing case risks permanent disability, says lawyer](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.nst.com.my%2Fimages%2Farticles%2Fsubangstudent_1753497067.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
![[UPDATED] Chinese student in private university stabbing case risks permanent disability, says lawyer](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.nst.com.my%2Fassets%2FNST-Logo%402x.png%3Fid%3Db37a17055cb1ffea01f5&w=48&q=75)
New Straits Times
4 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
[UPDATED] Chinese student in private university stabbing case risks permanent disability, says lawyer
KUALA LUMPUR: A Chinese student is at risk of permanent disability after suffering a severe neck injury allegedly inflicted by her ex-boyfriend in a knife attack at a private university two weeks ago. Her lawyers said the attack caused severe nerve damage to 20-year-old Wu Jialin's left hand, with doctors expressing little hope for full recovery. Lawyers Muhamad Saifullah Muhamad Azmi, Chew Sin Yee, Mohd Safwan Saleh and M. Partiben have been acting for Wu's family since the incident. The legal team has been holding a watching brief during the remand and charge proceedings of the accused, You Wei, also from China, who was charged with causing grievous hurt against Wu with a dangerous weapon. Speaking on behalf of Wu's mother, the lawyers said Jialin sustained a deep, 10cm wound to her neck, requiring over 40 stitches. "Due to excessive blood loss in the lungs and chest, a chest tube had to be inserted to drain the accumulated blood. "She is in severe pain and unable to sleep," the lawyers said. They said the police had recorded Jialin's statement at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre in Petaling Jaya, where she is being treated, last week. "She was traumatised and cried when asked by the investigating officer about the incident and when she was shown pictures of it. "Investigators spent three to four hours recording her statement." On July 21, You, 20, claimed trial to the charge before Shah Alam Sessions Court Judge Norazlin Othman. He was accused of committing the offence against Wu using a dangerous weapon, which could have caused her death, at 6.30pm at a university in Bandar Sunway on July 14. The charge, under Section 326 of the Penal Code, carries a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine or whipping upon conviction. You's lawyer, Revin Kumar, said his client is a third-year student at the university and that he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and is receiving treatment at a private clinic. The court set Sept 17 for mention. Wu was reportedly involved in a confrontation when You allegedly stabbed her in the neck with a knife. Viral videos of the incident show university students rushing to assist her, attempting to stop the bleeding from her neck, while several male students restrained the suspect.


The Star
34 minutes ago
- The Star
Thousands of men shared non-consensual intimate photos on Telegram: Chinese media
BEIJING: Thousands of men allegedly shared intimate photos and videos of their girlfriends without consent on the Telegram messaging app, Chinese media reported, sparking widespread outcry against secret filming and calls to better protect women. Pornography in China is illegal, and conservative social attitudes towards women remain the norm, often reinforced by state media and popular culture. It comes after a Chinese university expelled a female student this month for "damaging national dignity" over videos posted by a Ukrainian esports player on Telegram suggesting they had been intimate. The Chinese state-owned Southern Daily reported this week a woman had discovered that photos of her taken unknowingly had been shared in a Telegram forum with over 100,000 users, mostly Chinese men. Members of the forum also shared photos of their girlfriends, ex-girlfriends and wives, according to a commentary in the Guangming Daily, an outlet backed by China's ruling communist party. Revelations of the group have sparked widespread outcry online. "We are not...'content' that can be randomly uploaded, viewed and fantasised about," read one comment on Instagram-like Red Note. "We can no longer remain silent. Because next could be me, or it could be you." A related hashtag has been viewed more than 230 million times on social media platform Weibo since Thursday. The largest group, called "Mask Park", has since been taken down, but smaller spinoffs remain active, according to women contacted by Southern Daily. Telegram encrypts its users' messages and is banned in China, but it is accessible using a virtual private network. AFP has contacted Telegram for comment. The incident has drawn comparisons to a case in South Korea dubbed "Nth Room", in which a man blackmailed dozens of women into taking sexually explicit videos and sold them on Telegram. Chinese women have taken to social media to detail their own experiences being filmed and photographed by men in public. "What criminals consider 'regular' for them may be nightmares that countless women can't escape for the rest of their lives," one woman said, sharing an encounter on Douyin. Chinese police have cracked down on illegal filming, arresting hundreds of people in 2022 over clandestine surveillance activities. But women's rights are sensitive territory in China - over the last decade, authorities have suppressed almost every form of independent feminist activism. #MeToo activist Sophia Huang Xueqin was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of "inciting subversion of state power" after she became a symbol of the country's stalled feminist movement. Chinese authorities have yet to publicly announce any action against the Telegram group. But the Guangming Daily commentary urged "accountability" for the organisers of the Telegram group, and empathy for the people filmed. Improving law enforcement would "enhance the overall sense of security, free women from the fear of being spied on and make privacy boundaries a truly untouchable red line", it said. - AFP