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Source: Reuters
On April 16th, the US Department of Commerce forbade ZTE Corp. , a state-owned Chinese telecommunications equipment and systems company, from acquiring components from American suppliers for a period of seven years. The ban was issued as a punishment for ZTE’s failure to redress its violation of US sanctions against Iran and North Korea.
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Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, Source: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin (Washington Times)
![[Supreme Leader of the DPRK and Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea Kim Jong-un chairs a meeting of the Workers’ Party of Korea in this photo released on Apr. 21, 2018. Photo: KCNA via Reuters]](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59bf546f9f8dce7707849e73/t/5adf353a1ae6cf4ebd753422/1524577604146/unnamed.png)
[Supreme Leader of the DPRK and Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea Kim Jong-un chairs a meeting of the Workers’ Party of Korea in this photo released on Apr. 21, 2018. Photo: KCNA via Reuters]
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, commonly “North Korea,” has announced several apparent diplomatic concessions in the lead-up to an inter-Korean summit set for Apr. 27, 2018, and a planned summit between the United States and North Korea slated for late May or early June this year.
Read More![[Demonstrators carrying signs and posters protest against Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe outside of the National Diet Building in Tokyo, Japan, on Apr. 14, 2018. Photo: Bloomberg]](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59bf546f9f8dce7707849e73/t/5ad9422b88251b78280ec53c/1524187699667/Screen+Shot+2018-04-19+at+9.27.15+PM.png)
[Demonstrators carrying signs and posters protest against Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe outside of the National Diet Building in Tokyo, Japan, on Apr. 14, 2018. Photo: Bloomberg]
Recent developments surrounding a scandal regarding the Japanese government’s handling of documents relating to a land sale to an ultra-nationalist educational institution threaten to bring down the current government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Read MoreAt the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan Province, China on Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged that China will continue to open its economy and urged "dialogue rather than confrontation" amid the recent rise in economic tensions between the US and China.
Read MoreThe government of Japan has adopted a basic timeline for the series of events and formal ceremonies surrounding the succession of the Chrysanthemum Throne, with Crown Prince Naruhito slated to become Emperor of Japan upon the abdication of his father, current Emperor Akihito, on Apr. 30, 2019.
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President Trump confirms the imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports
Source https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/08/us/politics/trump-tariff-announcement.html
On Monday April 2, China announced to impose new tariffs on imports from the United States, hitting 128 products ranging from pork, meat and fruit to steel pipes, in response to the US tariffs on steel and aluminum that took effect a week ago. Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index soon tumbled 2.23 percent, and markets have entered correction territory.
Read More![[A radar image of Tiangong-1 taken at an orbital height of approximately 270 kilometers (167.8 miles or 885,827 feet) above the Earth’s surface on Mar. 21, 2018. Photo: Fraunhofer Institute]](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59bf546f9f8dce7707849e73/t/5ac2e9d41ae6cf15a4b72119/1522723298158/pasted+image+0.png)
[A radar image of Tiangong-1 taken at an orbital height of approximately 270 kilometers (167.8 miles or 885,827 feet) above the Earth’s surface on Mar. 21, 2018. Photo: Fraunhofer Institute]
The People’s Republic of China’s Manned Space Agency reported that its space laboratory module, Tiangong-1 (“Heavenly Palace 1”), re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere and burned up over the southern Pacific Ocean on Apr. 2, 2018. The destruction of the satellite marks the end of China’s first space station which was launched nearly seven years ago.
Read More![[A demonstrator holds the flags of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the United States in support of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen during her stopover in Burlingame, California on Jan. 14, 2017. Photo: REUTERS ]](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59bf546f9f8dce7707849e73/t/5abdb9ab70a6ad128f561f59/1522383279033/Picture1.png)
[A demonstrator holds the flags of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the United States in support of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen during her stopover in Burlingame, California on Jan. 14, 2017. Photo: REUTERS]
US President Donald Trump has signed the Taiwan Travel Act, thus legally opening the way for high-level diplomatic and military exchanges between Washington and Taipei.
Read MoreOne month after the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, South Korea will be sending a group of singers to North Korea on March 31st.
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A public toilet in China (CNN)
The integration of a multifunctional toilet into the public space is directly linked to a technique-transformation emphasis on rural economic reforms.
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![[President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping casts his ballot during a vote on a constitutional amendment abolishing presidential term limits during the third plenary session of the 13th National People’s Congress on Mar. 11, 2018. Photo: REUTERS]](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59bf546f9f8dce7707849e73/t/5aa6a2aa53450aa04e6621c5/1520870071140/)
[President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping casts his ballot during a vote on a constitutional amendment abolishing presidential term limits during the third plenary session of the 13th National People’s Congress on Mar. 11, 2018. Photo: REUTERS]
The National People’s Congress (NPC) of the People’s Republic of China has voted to abolish term limits for the president and vice-president of the People’s Republic. The constitutional amendment passed easily through the nearly 3,000 member legislative chamber, with 2,958 votes for, two against, three abstentions, and one invalid ballot.
Read MoreOn Monday March 5, China proclaimed its plan to increase the military budget by 8.1 percent from 2017.
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Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen (center) hosts a lunch meeting, with Vice President Chen Chien-jen (left) and Premier William Lai (right), along with the other heads of the branches of Taiwan’s government, in attendance on Jan. 11, 2018. Photo: Office of the President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
Taiwan inaugurated a new Cabinet on February 26, 2018 after a major reshuffle in key national security, diplomatic, and cross-strait posts was announced three days prior.
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Poster of Operation Red Sea (Source: Global Times)
While the CCP propaganda film Beginning of the Great Revival struck a silent chord in the box office when distributed by American AMC Theatres, Operation Red Sea performed strongly at home.
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Chinese terracotta warrior statues, Qin Museum, Xian, China
A 24-year-old American suspect, identified as Michael Rohana by the FBI, has allegedly broken off a finger of one the renown terracotta soldiers while at the museum for an “Ugly Sweater Party” with his friends on December 21st.
Read More![[Emperor of Japan Akihito (right) and his eldest son and heir apparent Crown Prince Naruhito (left) greets the public at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan during the annual New Year’s greetings on Jan. 2, 2018. Photo: KYODO]](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59bf546f9f8dce7707849e73/t/5acd484f562fa7a9dc6d452c/1523402842070/Screen+Shot+2018-04-10+at+7.26.13+PM.png)
![[Emperor of Japan Akihito (right) and his eldest son and heir apparent Crown Prince Naruhito (left) greets the public at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan during the annual New Year’s greetings on Jan. 2, 2018. Photo: KYODO]](https://img.kyodonews.net/english/public/images/posts/7ba246cc9b6d881f66e107a73a5596e0/photo_l.jpg){kind=link}
