Tensions are building between Taiwan and China as Taiwan makes strides towards independence. The election of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party struck some nerves in Beijing who says they, “certainly will not allow Taiwan to separate from the motherland.” Taiwan is actually situated in pretty geopolitically significant spot, especially if they were to gain their independence. An independent Taiwan would… Read more »
Source: Reuters BEIJING (Reuters) – China is willing to show utmost goodwill towards self-ruled Taiwan but won’t allow its separation from China, the country’s defense ministry said on Thursday after Taiwan’s president said she does not rule out the possibility of a Chinese attack. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said this week she does not exclude the possibility of China attacking… Read more »
Source: Reuters PARIS/LONDON/MOSCOW (Reuters) – North Korea shipped coal to Russia last year which was then delivered to South Korea and Japan in a likely violation of U.N. sanctions, three Western European intelligence sources said. The U.N. Security Council banned North Korean exports of coal last Aug. 5 under sanctions intended to cut off an important source of the foreign… Read more »
Source: France24 Hong Kong’s leading democracy activists appealed Tuesday against their jail terms in a case seen as a litmus test for the independence of the city’s judiciary, which some fear is under pressure from Beijing. Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow were jailed in August last year for their role in the 2014 Umbrella Movement mass pro-democracy protests, after Hong Kong’s government… Read more »
Source: France24 Female hockey players from the rival Koreas were paired up with each other Thursday to form their first-ever Olympic squad during next month’s Pyeongchang Winter Games. A dozen North Korean hockey players wearing white-and-red winter parkas crossed the heavily fortified border into South Korea earlier Thursday, as about 30-40 conservative activists shouted anti-Pyongyang slogans at a nearby border area. The North Koreans… Read more »
Stemming from the original Olympic games in Athens, the underlying theme of Olympic games has always been national unity and pride. The latest communication between the dueling parts of the Korean peninsula to discuss Olympic participation by the North has broken an over two year silence. Recently, the North reopened the line to communicate with South Korea, but it wasn’t… Read more »
Source: NHK World South Korean President Moon Jae-in says his country’s 2015 agreement with Japan over those referred to as comfort women was defective. Moon presented the view during a luncheon with 8 of the women at the presidential office on Thursday. They were joined by the head of a civic group that placed a statue symbolizing such women in… Read more »
Source: BBC North Korea has accepted an offer to attend high-level talks next week, South Korean officials have said. The meeting, on 9 January, will focus on finding a way for North Korean athletes to attend the Winter Olympic Games in South Korea in February. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said this week that sending a delegation to the Games… Read more »
Throughout the course of the simulation, I played a couple different roles as a representative for the Foreign Ministry of Gilbia. Mainly, I did more behind the scenes work than anything else, especially on the first day of the simulation. I typed up the main points of all the countries and organizations’ opening statements so that we could look back… Read more »
When I came across this article and starting reading it, what stuck out to me most was how it directly related to the simulation we just completed. The refugee crisis in Myanmar has been going on for months now, but the attempt to come to a solution by the international community is a new development. Familiar names such as the… Read more »