Former World No.1 shuttler Ye Zhaoying reveals she was asked to lose 2000 Olympic semi-final

Former World Champion Ye Zhaoying has made a shocking revelation against the Chinese Olympic Committee, saying that she was asked to lose the 2000 Sydney Olympics semifinal against the eventual champion Gong Zhichao for China to have a better chance to bag a gold medal. Zhaoying reckons that it was a conspiracy against the Denmark women’s singles player Camilla Martin in China’s pursuit of a gold medal. "They told me it was important that no one could see that I was losing deliberately," Zhaoying said while talking to TV 2 Sport. "You feel so powerless because it’s just you against the whole system. The Olympic Games are almost a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for an athlete, and it feels so desperately tragic when you have to throw it all away. But I’m just one person, and there was nothing I could do against the system. "If I had won my semi-final and then gone on to lose to Camilla in the final, all of China would have considered me a traitor. My previous victories would have been meaningless, had I not won gold. Everything was about the Olympics,” she added. "The only thought was to ensure the country’s success. The Olympics is the most important tournament for China. Not just for the players, but especially for the coaches and top management of the Chinese Sports Association. They told me that it must not be too obvious that I lost on purpose. I was also not allowed to make Gong Zhichao tired and I was going to lose in two sets. The match was not allowed to go to the third game, because then Zhichao would be too exhausted," Zhaoying revealed. In a press release, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) said it “can’t comment on specific details related to this historic incident” but that measures were in place to combat corruption. “Accusations of this nature are something we consider very seriously,” said BWF president Thomas Lund in the statement. “Match manipulation of any kind is not tolerated in badminton. We are committed to protecting the integrity of the sport by putting in place very robust measures for monitoring and investigating acts of match manipulation.” Lund said the federation needed to remain “vigilant” in its attempt to keep the sport clean, while encouraging individuals to come forward through the BWF’s ‘whisteblower’ system. The interview with the Chinese player was conducted in Malaga, Spain, where Ye lives in exile with her husband, former Chinese soccer star Hao Haidong. --- ENDS ---

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North Dakota community fights to stop Chinese company Fufeng from opening corn mill near US Air Force base

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More than 300-acres of North Dakota farmland could soon be home to a massive corn mill, owned by the Chinese company Fufeng.

Fufeng plans to invest $700 million to open the mill. But the community is weary because state and local officials said the company has ties to the Chinese Communist Party. "I'm not going to say that economic development isn't a good thing. But at what cost?" said Ben Grzadzielewski. The plant would be just 12-miles from the Grand Forks Air Force Base – home to top secret drone technology. The community is fighting back, collecting thousands of signatures on a petition to bring the deal to a vote and suing the city to stop the project. Grzadzielewski is working closely with the legal team. IF BIDEN WON'T STOP LAND GRABS BY CHINA, CONGRESS WILL

Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota. (Fox News)

"In terms of Grand Forks, its water use, pollution, and smell. In terms of national, it is security. Everyone should be worried nationally about the security issues as well as locally," Grzadzielewski told Fox News. The prime farmland is just across from Frank Matejecks Red River Angus Farm. "This is 370-acres of some of the best farmland in the country," Matejeck said. Wondering why Fufeng chose that land for the mill, he told Fox News that the property would not be located near tons of corn crops. "There will never be enough corn from the growers around here to facilitate that plant, ever," said Matejeck. The land, which is usually full of sugar beets and soybeans, was owned by three local farmers. The property was not for sale when officials said Fufeng offered to buy the land. The Chinese company spent millions to secure the deal, dishing out well over the average price for the land at more than $26,000 an acre. From yard signs, to tense council meetings, the fight against Fufeng rages on. "This is crazy. You people want to bring communist China to Grand Forks. They kill people in communist China," a concerned citizen told the council at a recent meeting.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., walks through the Senate subway in the Capitol on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Now, making its way all the way to Washington D.C. where North Dakota Republican Senator Kevin Cramer said the threat of Chinese espionage is very real. "The China of today is not the China of decades ago. China has demonstrated real aggression," said Senator Cramer. Cramer is a member of the Committee on Armed Services. Receiving weekly national security briefings.  "Stuff that I can't share, but stuff that people should be concerned about," Senator Cramer said. It's not just here in North Dakota. According to the USDA, Chinese owners control at least $2 billion worth of agricultural land across the country. That number is low compared to other foreign countries but growing.  Fufeng would be the largest foreign private sector investment in the history of Grand Forks. The city said the plant would bring in at least 200 jobs and millions in tax revenue. Grand Forks Republican Mayor Brandon Bochenski said he hears the concerns. "We would love to see growth. We'd love to see a corn mill, you know, the whole China thing just makes it more difficult for us," Mayor Bochenski said.

A New York Times guest essay suggested Monday that the Biden administration's posture on China distracts from Russia. (Bikash Dware/The Rising Nepal via AP))

TAIWAN BOASTS OF POWERFUL ANTI-AIRCRAFT WEAPONRY AMID FEARS OF CHINESE INVASION Mayor Bochenski said Grand Forks is not desperate for investment and he knows there is a possibility the deal could be killed. "There's nobody in the world right now than me that would rather have this be an American company. Because, you know, like I said, nobody is ecstatic about it being a Chinese investment. We're patriotic. I'm a patriotic guy. I would love American companies to invest more in our country instead of investing overseas. But, you know, that's not the environment we're in, unfortunately. We're trying to sort through this," Bochenski told Fox News. The Republican Mayor said it is not a done deal, until the federal government weighs in. "If they truly believe it is a bad project and have the facts and the information to back it up, we'll certainly follow their lead," Mayor Bochenski said. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Right now, the federal government is reviewing Fufeng’s plans to find out if there is any threat to national security.  The city expects the review to be done within a month. 

Fufeng said they won’t comment until the review is done. So, for now, the plan is still in play. 

Alexis McAdams currently serves as an FNC correspondent based in New York City. She joined the network in January 2020.

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Chinese teacher performs Hadiqa Kiani hit 'Boohey Barian'

A video of a Chinese teacher performing Hadiqa Kiani’s classic ‘Boohey Barian’ is going viral on social media platforms.

A video that has been circulating on various social media sites sees Ms Vicky – a music teacher at Pakistan Embassy College in Beijing – perform one of the most iconic tracks by the prolific singer.

The Chinese teacher chose the iconic ‘Boohey Barian’ by Kiani to perform for students and visitors at a cultural event organized at ‘Silk Road International Arts Centre’ to mark the 75th independence day of Pakistan earlier this week.

Pakistan Embassy College Beijing music teacher Ms. Vicky performing the iconic song ‘Buhe Bariyan’ of @Hadiqa_Kiani at the Pakistan Food and Cultural Festival organized by Embassy to mark 75th Independence of Pakistan at Silk Road International Arts Centre.@PkPublicDiplo pic.twitter.com/hnWOY3xLlM

— Moin ul Haque (@PakAmbChina) August 17, 2022

The video which was originally published by Pakistan’s ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque on the micro-blogging site, received a hearty response from social users who loved this cultural exchange between friendly neighbours.

Here is what the comments read on the viral video.

• Wow Beautiful Voice ❤🔥
• Huffff its like hadiqa herself is singing ❤️🔥
• She slayed it ❤️❤️👏
• She did justice to her song❤️
• Woah such perfection😍
• What a beautiful song she chosing her self and also appreciate for her dress look

Moreover, the singer herself lauded the music teacher for her performance and revealed that the two had a chance to jam together earlier. She wrote, “I’ll always have so much love and respect for Vicky since we sang together in Beijing so many years ago.”

It is pertinent to mention that ‘Boohey Barian’ is a part of the Platinum-selling album ‘Roshni’ by Hadiqa Kiani, which came out in 1998 and has been copied multiple times in the past two decades. The track has been plagiarised by several Indian composers in the movies and music videos.

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Pakistan to adopt Chinese model of economic development: Ahsan Iqbal

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, Thursday said that Pakistan will adopt the Chinese model of economic development, which he called a modernday miracle.

According to the Minister, Pakistan has traditionally lacked political stability and continuity in economic policy, making economic progress impossible.

He stated that the government of Pakistan began construction on nine Special Economic Zones (SEZs) under CPEC in 2013, but “we could not complete even one of them” during the previous administration. He claims that if these SEZs had been built, China’s industrial relocation would have occurred in Pakistan by now.

According to Ahsan Iqbal, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif launched the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in 2013 with a $46 billion investment in infrastructure and energy projects.

He stated on this occasion that China and Pakistan had decided to collaborate on a green economy.

He stated that China’s present leadership believes in environmentally friendly industrial growth and that in the future, they would place a premium on environmentally friendly regulations in new projects.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/pakistan-to-adopt-chinese-model-of-economic-development-ahsan-iqbal/?feed_id=12806&_unique_id=62fef46f72fd6

Chinese jets, warships detected around Taiwan

Fast News

China concluded its more than a week-long massive military exercises surrounding Taiwan after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the self-ruled island, bucking Beijing’s warnings.

China views Taiwan as a “breakaway province” despite Taipei having governed itself since 1949. (AP)

Taiwan has reported detecting 24 Chinese aircraft and 6 warships around the island.

Of the 24 planes, 10 – four Sukhoi Su-30 fighters, four Shenyang J-16 jets and two Chengdu J-10s – “had flown on the east part of the median line of the Taiwan Strait,” the Defence Ministry tweeted on Friday.

Taiwanese forces “monitored the situation and responded to these activities with aircraft … naval vessels, and land-based missile systems,” the ministry added.

China on Wednesday concluded its more than a week-long massive military exercises surrounding Taiwan after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the self-ruled island on August 2, bucking Beijing’s warnings.

Provocative and destabilising

US Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell said on Friday that China overreacted to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan and used it as a pretext to try to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.

Campbell told reporters in a call that the American response would be patient and effective, and that its presence and posture would "account for China's more provocative and destabilising behaviour." 

READ MORE: Taiwan continues military drills amid tensions with China

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIfIDo1LWUg[/embed]

'Breakaway province'

China views Taiwan as a “breakaway province” despite Taipei having governed itself since 1949.

Beijing has vowed to reunify the island, including by force if necessary.

Apart from the show of military might, Beijing has downgraded military dialogue with the US and suspended cooperation on climate change issues, along with six other countermeasures.

READ MORE: China 'will not renounce the use of force' to unify Taiwan with mainland

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2a4yR4P_Vk[/embed]

Source: AA

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Taiwan says it detected 66 Chinese aircraft, 14 warships in strait

BEJING

Taiwan said it had detected 66 Chinese aircraft and 14 warships conducting exercises in and around the Taiwan Strait on Sunday.

“14 PLAN (People's Liberation Army Navy) vessels and 66 PLA (People's Liberation Army) aircraft around our surrounding region were detected today until 1700 (GMT+8). #ROCArmedForces have monitored the situation and responded to these activities with aircraft in CAP, naval vessels, and land-based missile systems,” Taiwan’s Defense Ministry tweeted.

It added that “22 of the detected aircraft had flown on the east part of the median line of the Taiwan Strait and our SW ADIZ (Air Defense Information Zone).”

Taiwan, however, rejected allegations that a Chinese destroyer entered its territorial waters.

Taiwan’s CNA news agency, citing the Defense Ministry, said it is not true that the Chinese ship cruised off the coast of eastern Hualien County.

It is merely part of China’s psychological operations campaign, it argued.

Earlier Sunday, China announced that it would conduct live-fire military exercises in the Yellow and Bohai seas.

The drill in the Bohai Sea will be held from Aug. 8 to Sept. 8, while the one in the Yellow Sea will be conducted from Aug. 7-15, the Maritime Safety Administration said in a statement.

China launched massive military exercises surrounding Taiwan last week after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the self-ruled island, bucking Beijing’s warnings.

China views Taiwan as a "breakaway province" despite Taipei having governed itself since 1949. Beijing has vowed to reunify the island, including by force if necessary.

As part of its major military exercises near Taiwan and eight countermeasures to respond to the situation, China on Friday dispatched the largest number of military aircraft across the Taiwan Strait this year, according to Taiwan's Defense Ministry.

*Writing by Ahmet Gencturk

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