A Pacific telecommunications giant recently acquired by Australia’s Telstra has been a conduit for spying activity, alleges a new report. Digicel Pacific was purchased last year with major backing from Australia’s federal government over fears a Chinese-backed entity could swoop in and take over the company while establishing a foothold for Beijing-backed surveillance activity. The $1.6 billion buyout was carried out amidst ongoing competition in the region between democratic allies and the Chinese Communist Party. A new report from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab reveals that “spies-for-hire” had leased or gained use of “global titles,” in an analysis released to the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation....Read more https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/private-spies-tapped-pacific-telco-giants-network-5486242
Two-thirds of Australians prioritise human rights over Australia’s trade with China, a recent poll reveals. “The Chinese Government has been found to violate the human rights of the people of Hong Kong, Tibet, Uyghurs, and is currently being investigated by the U.N. for cases of forced labour in Tibet and Uyghur areas,” reads the question of an online poll conducted by Essential Research during Aug. 16 to 20. “The Australian Government is pursuing a trade re-engagement with China following a period of tariffs affecting imports and exports. “Which of the following is closest to your view on whether Australia should re-engage in trade relations with China, given these human rights abuses?”... 
Dozens of Republican House Energy and Commerce Committee members sought to review the licensing agreement between Ford Motor Co. and a Chinese electric vehicle battery maker. In a letter sent to Ford’s CEO James Farley, the Republicans, led by committee chair Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Oversight Subcommittee Chair Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), asked for a copy of the licensing agreement and all Ford’s communications on the deal’s eligibility for tax credits. The lawmakers were concerned that Ford’s deal with the Chinese EV battery maker “could aid China’s efforts to expand its control over United States electric vehicle supply chains and jeopardize national security by furthering dependence on China.” They wrote that such national security risks would become “serious” “at the time of escalating geopolitical tensions.”...