Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said China would face consequences if it were to consider shipping weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine amid broader US warnings that Beijing may begin offering Moscow military aid.
“What I will convey to each of the colleagues, including my Chinese colleague here, is that the truth here is not somewhere in the middle, there is only one country responsible and that is Russia,” Hoekstra told reporters on the sidelines of the Group of 20 foreign ministers’ summit in New Delhi. Helping Moscow militarily “will have consequences if countries crossed that line, in my opinion.”
Many of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure projects are plagued with construction flaws, including a giant hydropower plant in Ecuador, adding more costs to a program criticized for leading countries deeper into debt
The Chinese-built Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project in Nosari, Pakistan, shown in 2017, has been shut down because officials said they detected cracks 中国于2017年在巴基斯坦努萨里兴建的尼勒姆-杰勒姆水电项目因官员称发现裂缝而被关闭
China’s infrastructure boom in recent decades has been dazzling yet costly in environmental, financial and social terms. In 2016, Oxford researchers concluded that “poorly managed infrastructure investments are a main explanation of surfacing economic and financial problems in China.” Those analysts concluded that “China’s infrastructure investment model is not one to follow for other countries but one to avoid.” 近几十年来，中国的基础设施繁荣令人眼花缭乱，但在环境、金融和社会方面却代价高昂。 2016年，牛津大学的研究人员得出结论说，”管理不善的基础设施投资是中国经济和金融问题出现的主要原因。 这些分析人士得出结论说:”中国的基础设施投资模式不是其他国家可以效仿的，而是应该避免的。”
https://lab.org.uk/the-amazon-be-dammed-ecuadors-china-connection/ A control panel inside the generation center of the CCS project. Photo by Max Nathanson
3 Gorges Dam | thousands of cracks found in China’s dam built in Ecuador 中国厄瓜多尔大坝发现数千处裂缝
https://youtu.be/w6cG2eoEZFg
Ecuadorean law enforcement officials say they are investigating whether Mr. Pólit and other officials were paid by the Chinese to overlook the problems. It was part of Mr. Pérez’s inquiry before his resignation, they say. Now, 7,648 cracks have developed in the dam’s machinery, according to the government, because of substandard steel and inadequate welding by Sinohydro. Sand and silt are also big concerns because they can damage vital equipment. On a recent visit, an engineer looked on nervously as readouts showed sand flowing into the dam. But workers say they’re sometimes confused because of shoddy translations. One sign in Chinese reads correctly: “Direct-Current (DC) Pumping Group.” 厄瓜多尔执法官员说，他们正在调查波利特和其他官员是否被中方付钱以忽略这些问题。 他们说，这是佩雷斯辞职前调查的一部分。根据政府的数据，目前大坝的机械有7648处出现裂缝，原因是钢材不合格，中水电的焊接不够。 沙子和淤泥也是人们关注的焦点，因为它们会损坏重要的设备。在最近的一次访问中，一位工程师紧张地注视着沙流入大坝的读数。 但工人们说，他们有时因为翻译不当而困惑不解。一个中文标记正确写着:”直流泵组”。
In 2011, Ecuador’s then-president Rafael Correa toured the Toachi Pilatón works. During the ten years of his government, the construction of eight hydroelectric plants was announced. (Image: Miguel Ángel Romero/Presidencia de la República)Ecuador’s Coca Codo Sinclair dam during construction. Photo by http://www.presidencia.gob.ec/ on VisualHunt.com / CC BY-NC-SA
Ecuador’s power company CELEC has found new problems at its Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant that threaten water flow and electricity generation, the company’s chief executive said, the latest issue at the facility built by China’s Sinohydro Corp. The findings come after CELEC in May requested arbitration through the International Chamber of Commerce to settle a dispute over cracks in the 1,500-megawatt plant’s machinery that have prevented it from operating at full capacity since it was completed in 2016, after $2.2 billion in construction costs. During a shutdown of four of Coca Coda Sinclair’s eight turbines for planned maintenance, state-owned CELEC discovered missing bolts on some of its valves, CEO Gonzalo Uquillas said, adding that the problem could prevent valves from opening and closing to adequately regulate the flow of water. “Of the 96 bolts that secure the seals on these valves, some bolts are missing,” Uquillas said in an interview on July 16. “I don’t want to believe they weren’t installed, but they are missing.” 厄瓜多尔电力公司CELEC首席执行官说，该公司在可口可乐辛克莱水力发电厂发现了新的问题，这些问题威胁着水的流动和发电。今年5月，CELEC要求通过国际商会进行仲裁，以解决1500兆瓦电厂机器裂缝的纠纷，该工厂自2016年竣工以来一直无法满负荷运转，此前，该工厂耗资22亿美元。该公司首席执行官冈萨洛·乌奎利亚斯说，在可口可乐公司八台涡轮机中，有四台因计划维修而关闭时，国营的CELEC发现其阀门上缺少螺栓。 他补充说，这个问题可能妨碍阀门开闭，从而无法充分调节水流。Uquillas在7月16日的采访中说:”在这些阀门上固定密封件的96个螺栓中，有些螺栓不见了。” “我不想相信它们没有安装好，但是它们不见了。”
China’s Elderly have hit the streets in Wuhan to protest the government’s new health insurance reforms. These reforms include cuts in monthly allowances paid to retirees. Molly Gambhir reports.
According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, China continues to be the primary source of fentanyl being imported into the United States, killing more than 100 Americans every day. It also continues to be the primary source of fentanyl for the rest of the world.
“Currently, China remains the primary source of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked through international mail and express consignment operations environment, as well as the main source for all fentanyl-related substances trafficked into the United States,” a 2020 DEA report asserts.
President Xi Jinping attends the opening ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Oct. 16, 2022. (Reuters/Thomas Peter)Texas authorities investigate a suspected fentanyl lab, Jan 30, 2023. (Texas Department of Public Safety)
How China Is Fuelling America’s Drug Epidemic | News on Drugs 中国如何助长美国的毒品流行| 毒品新闻
“There are major security concerns with a lot of these cameras, both in terms of the technology they contain and what happens to the data that comes from them. If you buy a system like this, you have to be able to trust the company you are buying from.”
He added that using Chinese-made cameras also presents ethical concerns, since some have been implicated in helping the Chinese government monitor detainment camps for Uyghurs in Xinjiang province.
His comments came after Sir Alex Younger, the former head of MI6, said the UK should “wake up” to the threat posed by China, following last week’s decision by Washington to shoot down a balloon officials believed to be carrying out surveillance.
