A main federal retirement fund will not invest in the Hong Kong stock market, as the risks of Chinese securities are increasing amid U.S. efforts to counter the communist regime. The Federal Thrift Retirement Investment Board (FTRIB), a government agency that manages the federal retirement plan, voted unanimously to adjust the benchmark index it uses for its international stock investment fund, excluding all investment in Hong Kong, the board said in a Nov. 14 statement. The fund doesn’t invest in mainland China, and its previous plan to invest in Chinese stocks was halted amid strong opposition in Washington. The decision comes as tensions between the world’s two largest economies remain high, including over the U.S. investment restrictions and export ban on sensitive technologies that could be used to help the Chinese Communist Party’s military modernization or undermine American national security....Read more https://www.theepochtimes.com/china/federal-retirement-fund-to-exclude-hong-kong-investments-5530663
Recent reports from official Chinese media have highlighted a rapid spread of respiratory infections, initially identified as mycoplasma pneumonia, particularly affecting children across various regions of China. Alarmingly, signs of a similar outbreak have emerged in South Korea, intensifying public concern. However, a Chinese doctor has revealed this surge in infections is a variant of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) rather than mycoplasma pneumonia, a perspective shared by some experts. According to an announcement made on Nov. 11 by the Korean Disease Management Agency, the number of patients hospitalized for mycoplasma pneumonia from Oct. 29 to Nov. 4 tripled compared to the same period last year, reaching 168 cases.... 
For decades, Canada has been one of the top three worldwide destinations for people emigrating from Hong Kong. It’s also a country that has been persistently infiltrated on all levels and from all sides by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Due to vested interests, Canada’s ruling party, the Liberal Party of Canada, has been slow to respond and has so far been unwilling to pass the Foreign Agents Registration Act. However, with all opposition parties determined to unite to support its passage, there’s an optimistic view about the legislation getting through Parliament in 2024. In 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. Since then, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has governed China and has had sole control over the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)....
The recent downfall of a provincial-level official in China has caught the attention of political analysts because the official is known as a close confidant of Chen Min’er, a member of the Politburo who currently serves as the party chief of Tianjin. In the infighting history of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), it is a common practice for a power struggle to start with an intimate subordinate of the targeted high-ranking official. Analysts have said that after Chinese leader Xi Jinping secured his third term, there are two major factions in the top echelon of the CCP—the Zhejiang Gang and the Fujian Gang....