‘The Prophet’ of cult-like church near Owen Sound, gets 18 months for assaulting members

　 Fred King, 2nd from right, and members of his legal team arrive at court on Tuesday, May 10, 2016 in Owen Sound, Ont. ‘The Prophet’ of cult-like church near Owen Sound, gets 18 months for assaulting members OWEN SOUND — Disgraced Chatsworth church leader Fred King, known to his parishioners simply as “The Prophet,” was sentenced today to 18 months jail followed by two years probation.His church, which came to public attention first through a W5 television expose, has disbanded, according to defence lawyer Paul Mergler. King, 57, pleaded guilty in May to nine assaults which took place between Dec. 12, 1988 and Aug. 10, 2008, mostly in Chatsworth Township or elsewhere in Grey County, and in one case in Peel Region, involving four church members.　The abuse included squeezing a child’s hand with crushing force for fighting with a sister, and beating a teen in church in front of its members after she’d tried to run away. King also beat a young man stripped of clothes in front of his mother, leaving him standing outside for hours at night as mosquitoes bit him. Grey County Crown attorney Michael Martin said King, who led the church since 1986, was “all powerful within that religious denomination” and often preached for hours on end. He alone decided when behaviour needed “correction” and what form it took.　King, a tall, heavyset man, would “sadistically humiliate and repeatedly assault women . . . and children with complete impunity,” Martin said. Fred King, centre (in green jacket), and his brother Joseph King, right (in blue jacket), leave the Ontario Court of Justice following Fred King's bail hearing in Owen Sound on Wednesday, April 16, 2014. Fred King faces 25 charges from 1978-2008 following an investigation of allegations surrounding his Chatsworth area Church of Jesus Christ Restored. This breach of trust was often carried out in front of the congregation, Martin noted. Victims worked in “church-controlled jobs, either as farm labour or within the printing business.”King had nothing to say when given the opportunity to speak in court Wednesday.King admitted in the Superior Court of Justice in May to a litany of physical abuse, often designed to humiliate, something Justice Clayton Conlan said he found particularly disturbing as he accepted the sentence recommended by Crown and defence.He called King’s abuse of his church members a “gross violation” of King’s position of trust. Emotional scars left, he suspects, will never heal. The “sordid” facts were the primary aggravating factor in deciding the sentence. But to his credit, King pleaded guilty, saving the justice system time and avoiding aggravation the victims would have had to endure at trial. He’s a first offender, Conlan said.King’s victims in the charges he admitted to include three males between 11 and 19 years of age at the time, and Carol Christie. She and husband John Christie did not attend the sentencing because they attended a funeral instead. Fred King, center, follows an unidentified woman, left, and a member of his legal team into the courthouse on Tuesday, May 10, 2016 in Owen Sound, Ont. James Masters/The Owen Sound Sun Times/Postmedia NetworkFred King, center, follows an unidentified woman, left, and a member of his legal team into the courthouse on Tuesday, May 10, 2016 in Owen Sound, Ont. Only Christie, 63, of Owen Sound, may be named under terms of a publication ban, which was lifted on her name with her agreement. The ban was imposed to protect the privacy of the other victims at the Crown’s request.After a particularly severe and humiliating attack in front of parishioners, which was detailed in court, Christie ran from the church in March 2008, never to return. Two of the charges King pleaded to related to assaults on her when she was roughly 35 to 55 years old.Christie came forward and was featured on a W5 investigative report, and in local media in 2012, which detailed abuse allegations. The television report led the OPP to investigate, Martin said.Christie and her husband wrote a book about her experiences in the church. A former church member has alleged that Fred King had many wives at once who were handed down from his father, Stan King. But no polygamy charges ever resulted from the 16-month police investigation.Among charges that were withdrawn Wednesday were six allegations of sexual misconduct including on a young girl and a woman. In two cases the charges alleged repeated sexual assaults. The Crown said he stands behind the credibility of Christie, one of those complaints. Defence lawyer Mergler said late disclosure of information led to the plea arrangement and withdrawal of the sex related charges.Mergler, said its been tough on his client while facing these charges and before, when a civil suit was settled with a number of complainants who all received “very significant” damage awards.So it could be argued, he said, financial “restitution” has already been made to the extent possible. He also said there were “numerous and huge triable issues” in this case which had been set for three weeks of trial before a judge alone. Fred King, the church leader and alleged polygamist who was arrested Friday in Hamilton. Before Friday, the rural Ontario man hadn't been seen for two years, after church members in Chatsworth, Ont., accused him of sexual exploitation and assault. “There have been death threats,” against King, at least one of which police were told about and which led to imposition of a peace bond, Mergler said. “There was vandalism, including people urinating on the gates to the property. There has been some effective banishment and public vilification, one could say.”King’s “health has suffered” from stress-related issues which arose with this court matter. A term of bail required him not to live at home in Chatsworth, but instead in Oakville with his wife and brother Joe, one of his bail guarantors, who died this summer. That required Fred to take on many more duties n the family printing plant, which will miss him while he’s in jail, Mergler said. Letters from three of King’s children, all adults now, and from his wife, who attended court Wednesday, were submitted for the judge to consider. They work for the family printing business too. “The church has been disbanded. So so all of those people are there because they want to be,” Mergler said.King always “adamantly denied” any of the sexual charges, he noted. But his crimes, court case precedents and terms of the Criminal Code all “cry out for a jail term” in this case, he said.“Clearly the time for impunity has past.” Fred King’s brother, Judson King, is charged with assault with a weapon, sexual assault and three counts of assault between 1981 and 2007. He is to appear in assignment court in the Superior Court of Justice Nov. 7.

Dog poop cake' pulled from shelves following outcry

Dog poop cake' is pictured at a specialty store on Shanghai's Nanjing Road last month. Yin Liqin / For China Daily 'Dog poop cake' is pictured at a specialty store on Shanghai's Nanjing Road last month. Yin Liqin / For China Daily As the saying goes, "You are what you eat". And according to a manufacturer of mung bean cakes in Shanghai, if one eats its product labeled "dog poop cake", you are likely to be "blessed with the kind of luck that would see you step on dog poop". While tourists in the city have been intrigued by the product, locals are said to be indignant that the manufacturer is calling it "a specialty of Shanghai", leading to production of the cake being suspended and the product being pulled from shelves since Wednesday, after receiving wide media attention. "I don't get it. I just want to be innovative, which is supposed to be encouraged," said Zhang Neirong, owner and manager of Shanghai Fengdu Food Co, which began labeling its signature mung bean cakes as "dog poop cake" this year. Zhang said that due to overwhelming criticism and pressure, he has withdrawn the product from his partnering food stores in Shanghai. He has also stopped producing the cake's packaging - a linen bag and a post-it-size label that reads, "Savor the dog poop cake, enjoy the luck of stepping on dog poop" on a background featuring Shanghai's skyline. The mung bean cakes inside look and taste no different from the regular offerings prevalent at the city's food stores and supermarkets. But the price, 42 yuan ($6.2) for 200 grams, is almost twice the average price. A shop assistant working at a specialty store near the Bund, who refused to be named, said shoppers intrigued by the cakes are not usually concerned by the price, adding that more than 90 percent of purchases at her shop are made by tourists. On Tuesday last week, a local newspaper published a front-page article about how the cakes have been labeled a specialty, and questioned whether the product is creative or vulgar. The report quoted historians and food critics slamming such labeling of the cakes, although the government said there is no law or regulations defining the city's "specialty food". Zhang said he renamed his mung bean cakes after learning that a specialty in Sichuan province is "dog poop candy", while stating on his packaging that "dog poop cake" is a specialty of Shanghai to drive up sales. Made of yellow bean and peanuts, "dog poop candy", a specialty of Ya'an, Sichuan province, is believed to have gained its peculiar name because of its shape and color.

Taipei Palace Museum to sue Beijing museum for copyright infringemen

The Taipei Palace Museum will file a lawsuit against the Palace Museum in Beijing for violating its copyright by including three of its collections in a painting album without authorization. According to the Beijing Youth Daily, the Taipei Palace Museum has been preparing documents since November 3, but is yet to file them in a Beijing court. Law experts say that if the Taipei Palace Museum files a lawsuit in Beijing, due to the different intellectual property regulations, the Taipei side has to not only prove that it owns the copyright of the litigated paintings, but also that the Beijing side has conducted the infringement act according to China's Copyright Law. Three paintings including Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains are referred to as copyright offense According to Taipei Palace Museum staff, a painting album published by the Palace Museum in Beijing contains images of three paintings: Travelers among Mountains and Streams, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, and Early Spring, which are now among the Taipei museum's collections. Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains is one of the few surviving works by the painter Huang Gongwang, and was burnt into two pieces in 1650, with one of them stored today at the Zhejiang Provincial Museum in Hangzhou while the other kept at the Taipei Palace Musuem. The two halves were reunited for the first time in 2011 at the Taipei Palace Museum during an exhibition. Though the Palace Museum in Beijing marks below each image that they are from the Taipei Palace Museum, the Beijing side shall submit official application for an authorization before usage, according to Taipei museum's copyright usage regulations. The Taipei side claimed that after finding the three paintings, they had tried to contact the Beijing side in November and December last year to ask for a supplementary application, but no reply was received. Therefore, the Taipei Palace Museum decided to file a lawsuit against the Palace Museum in Beijing for copyright offenses. So far, the Beijing side hasn't made an official response.

真实的唐伯虎原来这么惨！

President Xi urges independent R&D for aviation engines, gas turbines

President Xi Jinping on Sunday called for acceleration of independent research, development and manufacturing of aircraft engines and gas turbines to make China an aviation industry power. His words came on the heels of the establishment of the Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC) Sunday in Beijing. The founding of the firm is a strategic move that will help enhance national power as well as the capacity of the armed forces, Xi said in a written instruction. The move will also benefit the reform of state-owned enterprises and the restructuring of the aviation industry, he continued. Xi encouraged AECC employees to be bold in innovating to make the country an aviation power. The AECC received investment from the State Council, the Beijing Municipal Government, Aviation Industry Corporation of China and Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, with a registered capital of 50 billion yuan (around 7.5 billion US dollars). The firm has 96,000 employees. Premier Li Keqiang said in his written instruction that aircraft engines are sophisticated products of the equipment manufacturing industry.Making breakthroughs in this area as soon as possible will have great value for improving China's economic and military power and national strength. Li urged indigenous innovation to make the AECC a world-class aircraft engine company. Vice Premier Ma Kai, who attended the opening ceremony, also stressed indigenous innovation and continued reforms to build the AECC into a modern enterprise full of vitality. He called for personnel training to cultivate scientific and skilled personnel as well as innovators. China will launch at least 100 key projects over the next 15 years to increase the country's technological capability and improve people's livelihoods, according to the 13th Five-Year Plan unveiled earlier this year. Aviation engines and gas turbines were listed among the top 10 of the 100 projects.

Ethnic peace talks test Suu Kyi

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi faces what could be the toughest test of her leadership yet when she opens a major ethnic peace conference Wednesday aimed at ending wars that have blighted the country since its independence. The five-day talks will bring hundreds of ethnic minority rebel leaders to the capital, along with military top brass and international delegates such as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. The conference is Suu Kyi's flagship effort to quell the long-running rebellions rumbling across Myanmar's impoverished frontier states, fuelled in part by the illegal drugs, jade and timber trades. Myanmar is home to more than 100 ethnic groups and many minorities harbor deep seated historical suspicions of the Bamar majority group - which includes Suu Kyi - complaining that they have endured decades of discrimination. Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has made ending the nearly 70 years of fighting the first priority of her newly minted government, which took over from the military in March after sweeping the first free election in generations. "If you ask me what my most important aim is for my country, that is to achieve peace and unity among the different peoples of our union," she said during a recent visit to China. "Without peace, there can be no sustained development." The 71-year-old is hoping to expand a shaky ceasefire signed last year between some rebel armies and the military-backed government. This week's conference will include both signatories to the ceasefire agreement and non-signatories, although some groups are still locked in intense fighting with government forces and their role in the talks remains unclear. Success also depends heavily on the military, which controls key levers of government and whose leaders are thought to have made billions from the vast natural resources of Myanmar's borderlands. "Anyone who is suggesting there could be any sort of agreement in the coming days or weeks is dreaming," said Anthony Davis, a security analyst and writer for IHS-Jane's, predicting the negotiations could take "many years." The conference has nevertheless been hailed as an important first step and one loaded with symbolism in a nation emerging from a dark military past. It is dubbed the '21st Century Panglong' - a reference to a 1947 agreement signed by Suu Kyi's independence hero father that granted a level of autonomy to major ethnic groups.

N. Korea fires back at UN over missile tests

North Korea hit back on Sunday at a UN Security Council statement condemning its latest test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), and threatened to take further steps as "a full-fledged military power." The 15-member council issued the toughly-worded condemnation in a unanimous statement and agreed to "take further significant measures" against North Korea, just days after the SLBM launch. Council members agreed to "continue to closely monitor the situation and take further significant measures," according to the statement, without elaborating. North Korea is barred under UN resolutions from any use of ballistic missile technology, but has carried out several launches following its fourth nuclear test in January. A spokesman for the North's foreign ministry labeled the UN statement a "product of brigandish acts of the US" and said Washington had ignored a warning about "hurting its dignity." "Now that the US posed threats to the dignity and the right to existence of the North Korea defying its serious warning, it will continue to take a series of eventful action steps as a full-fledged military power," the spokesman said. "The DPRK has substantial means capable of reducing aggression troops in the US mainland and the operation theatre in the Pacific to ashes in a moment," the spokesman added in a statement carried by the North's official KCNA news agency. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday described the latest SLBM test as the "greatest success" and said it put the US mainland and the Pacific within striking range. The missile was fired from a submarine off the northeastern port of Sinpo on Wednesday. It flew 500 kilometers towards Japan, far exceeding the range of the North's previous sub-launched missiles. A proven SLBM system would take North Korea's nuclear strike threat to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a "second-strike" capability in the event of an attack on its military bases. While Pyongyang has made faster progress in its SLBM system than originally expected, it is still years away from deployment, analysts said. North Korea has been hit by five sets of UN sanctions since it first tested a nuclear device in 2006. In March, the council adopted the toughest sanctions resolution to date, targeting North Korea's trade in minerals as well as tightening banking restrictions. The council met behind closed doors on Wednesday after North Korea launched a missile from a submarine towards Japan, the latest provocation from Pyongyang.

Obstacles continue to stall China-Vatican ties: experts

Obstacles remain in the way of diplomatic ties between China and the Vatican, experts said, as the Vatican expressed its hope Saturday of establishing formal relations with China. "There is much hope and expectation that there will be new developments and a new season in relations between the Holy See and China," Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin was quoted by Reuters as saying on Saturday. "[This] will benefit not just Catholics in the land of Confucius, but the whole country," Parolin said, adding that it also serves world peace. China, however, is not eager to establish formal ties with the Vatican, the only European country that has not established such relations with China, because it is not an urgent issue which will affect China's international status if it is not dealt with immediately, Yan Kejia, director of the Institute of Religious Studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday. Yan said formal Sino-Vatican ties could materialize if the Vatican cuts off official ties with Taiwan. "The Vatican should stop its political relations with Taiwan and focus on religious matters with the island," Yan noted. Taiwan's deputy leader Chen Chien-jen will visit the Vatican next month for a ceremony declaring Mother Teresa a saint, Reuters reported. China has said countries should be prudent when dealing with Taiwan-related issues, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told a daily briefing on Thursday and stressed the one-China principle when asked whether China had lodged a protest with the Vatican over the visit of Taiwan's deputy leader. Another major dispute between China and the Vatican involves the appointment of bishops, Hu Benliang, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Taiwan Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday. The Vatican expressed its deep regret to China after the latter consecrated several bishops in 2010 without its approval, saying that it was a "painful wound upon ecclesial communion and a grave violation of Catholic discipline." The situation improved when Zhang Yinlin, a coadjutor bishop in the Anyang diocese in Central China's Henan Province, became the first bishop recognized by both Beijing and the Holy See in August 2015.

Saudi prince visit eyes vast Chinese oil export market

China and Saudi Arabia are eyeing deeper energy cooperation as Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman prepares to visit China. Prince Mohammed is scheduled to visit China from Monday to Wednesday and will co-chair a high-level meeting between Saudi and Chinese officials led by Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced last week. During his visit, Prince Mohammed will meet Chinese officials on further strengthening economic ties with a number of deals, including the signing of memorandums of understanding on cooperation in the power sector and one on cooperation on oil storage, Saudi Arabia's English-language newspaper Arab News reported on Thursday. Deals expected to be signed during Prince Mohammed's trip also include investments in Saudi Aramco, the country's largest state-run oil producer, the Arab News said. Aramco is reportedly planning to go public, issuing about 5 percent of its shares as part of the kingdom's economic reform plan. Though other areas such as security cooperation are expected to be discussed, the main focus of the prince's trip will be on further opening the Chinese market, as the country faces deteriorating global market conditions for its oil exports and as China moves to bolster its strategic inventory, experts noted. Saudi Arabia, one of the world's largest oil exporters, has been suffering from sluggish global demand, shrinking prices and rising competition from countries like Russia and Iran. "At a difficult time like this, it is natural for Saudi Arabia to turn to China, the world's second-largest oil importer," said Lin Boqiang, director of the Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University. "I expect a relatively good deal for both sides during the visit." The potential deal would guarantee Saudi Arabia more access to the huge and expanding Chinese market, while helping China secure a steady oil supply at lower prices, according to Lin. China is already one of the largest importers of Saudi oil. In the first half of 2016, China imported about 1.07 million barrels of oil per day from Saudi Arabia, or 14 percent of China's foreign oil supply, according to Bloomberg. Strategic oil storage The potential for growth in Chinese oil imports is promising, as China needs to fill its strategic stock, according to Wang Jun, deputy director of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges' Department of Information. "Our strategic crude oil inventory only covers about 30 days, which is low, compared to other countries' 180-day stock. Furthermore, China's oil storage infrastructure has improved significantly and can store much more oil now, so there is a huge potential," Wang told the Global Times. Crude oil deals with Saudi Arabia would also diversify the supply channels for Chinese oil imports, which is conducive to the country's energy security, Lin noted. Prince Mohammed, who is scheduled to return to China after a visit to Japan to attend the G20, will present his country's economic reform plan, under which the Saudi government would spend $72 billion on projects aimed at diversifying the kingdom's economy.

Trump could feel sting from new Clinton ads depicting him as racist

US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump could feel some pain from a new line of political ads from his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's team depicting him as a racist, at a time when he is trying to catch up in the polls. Clinton's campaign this week put out a new TV advertisement claiming that among Trump's supporters are the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) -- a white supremacist group that has killed, terrorized and intimidated blacks and other minorities in the United States, although the group has very little power now compared to when it was in its heyday several decades ago. While Trump has no ties to white supremacists, the ad makes the case that they support him and that if he wins they will run the country. Experts said the ads could hurt Trump and damage his campaign, which is just three months from the November elections. "They are damaging for Trump because they draw on things he or his campaign have done to paint a picture of someone who is completely insensitive to the concerns of the minority community," Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua. The ads not only reinforce points already made that Trump is rude and impolite, but also take this critique several steps further by labeling him a racist, West said. For his part, Trump blasted the ads as untrue, while using social media to refute Clinton's attacks. But that move is risky for him, as experts say Trump must get the public eye off of his bombast and onto Clinton's perceived missteps and corruption while she was secretary of state. Experts also argued that the New York businessman should continue his message that law and order is declining in the United States, and that a Clinton presidency would only exacerbate this, as Clinton would be an extension of the current Obama administration. Trump has a few times tried to do this by making cogent and well-argued speeches on US foreign policy and the economy, only to later ruin any gains he might have made by reverting back to insults and bombast. In the past week Trump has resisted the temptation to make over-the-top statements that hurt him with the broader American electorate, but it remains unknown how long he can do this. "The risk for him is that he gets off his law and order message and has to defend himself from the racism charge. It never helps a candidate to have to give an 'I' m not a racist' defense," West said. Dan Mahaffee, an analyst with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, told Xinhua that Trump did avoid the temptation to go off script and has been more effective in message discipline recently. If Trump continues to focus on hitting backon Clinton and avoiding collateral damage, he may turn the corner and start to close some of the polling gap that has him behind Clinton in key states, Mahaffee said. US media has exposed that Clinton has in the past closely associated with known racists, as shown in her statements in 2010 when she referred to former Senator Robert Byrd, a KKK member, as a mentor and friend.

Activist jailed for subversion, harming national security

Activist Zhai Yanmin, who had posted online statements and comments that harmed national security and social stability, has been sentenced to three years in prison with a four-year reprieve for trying to subvert State power. Tianjin No 2 Intermediate People's Court announced the verdict about three hours after it publicly heard Zhai's case on Tuesday morning. The verdict said that Zhai began publishing statements and comments online in 2012. He also manipulated public opinion and organized several protests to disturb public order with lawyer Zhou Shifeng after joining an unregistered organization led by another man named Hu Shigen, the statement said. Zhou and Hu are being prosecuted in separate cases. The court ruled that Zhai committed the crime of subversion, damaging national security and social stability. Zhai pleaded guilty and cooperated with judicial organs following his arrest, which could be regarded as the reason for the reprieve and his lighter punishment, the court said. Zhai said he accepted the judgment and would not appeal.

Activist Hu Shigen jailed for subverting state power

Tianjin No 2 Intermediate People's Court sentenced activist Hu Shigen to seven years and six months in prison for subverting state power on Wednesday, following a three-hour hearing. Hu, 61, who used to be a teacher at a Beijing university, said after the announcement: "It is a fair judgment and I accept it. I will not appeal to a higher court." The verdict said that Hu had asked another man named Gou Hongguo to attend anti-China forums overseas. He also worked with lawyer Zhou Shifeng and activists Zhai Yanmin and Li Heping to protest the government by making use of hot topics to manipulate public opinion and petitions, according to the verdict. All these activities were illegal and were carried out under an unregistered organization, which claimed to be a religious body led by Hu, the verdict said. Hu confirmed that he broadcast subversive ideas to other members of the organization, saying that he aimed to overthrow the government, the court said. He was previously sentenced to 20 years in prison for counter-revolution in 1994, but was released in 2008 following a sentence reduction. Zhai was sentenced to three years in prison with a four-year reprieve for subversion on Tuesday. Zhou, Li and Gou are being prosecuted in separate cases.

Activist Hu Shigen pleads guilty to subversion

An activist accused of subversion, damaging national security and harming social stability pleaded guilty at Tianjin No 2 Intermediate People's Court on Wednesday. Prosecutors said that Hu Shigen led an "underground organization", which claimed to be a religious body, but in fact taught its members how to take advantage of hot topics and sensitive issues to protest the government. The organization, which was unregistered, is alleged to have "built a systematic ideology, method and steps" to achieve its goals, the municipal No 2 People's Procuratorate said in a statement. Hu had allegedly, since 2009, instructed a member of the organization named Gou Hongguo to attend forums overseas that were against the country and the government, while also working with lawyer Zhou Shifeng and activists Li Heping and Zhai Yanmin to organize activities that manipulated public opinion and disturbed public order, the prosecutors said. Hu, a native of Jiangxi province, was previously sentenced to 20 years in prison for counter-revolution in 1994. After a sentence reduction, he was freed in 2008. "Hu's ideology and his behaviors have seriously harmed the country and social stability," the prosecutors said during the trial. Zhai was sentenced to three years in prison with a four-year reprieve for subverting State power on Tuesday. Zhou, Gou and Li are being prosecuted in separated cases. Hu's case is still being heard in court.

Ludovic Trarieux was refused by #Wangyu of Beijing Fengrui Law Firm

https://view.inews.qq.com/a/2016080103907300

Political manipulation behind arbitral tribunal will be revealed: Chinese FM

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that the political manipulation behind the arbitral tribunal will be revealed, in response to the comments made by some foreign ministers on the South China Sea arbitration case. Wang expounded on China's position when attending the 6th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in the Lao capital Vientiane. Wang said China has not participated in the arbitration case and will not accept the so-called ruling, a position that China has made clear since day one and is supported by strong legal basis. By adopting this position, China is safeguarding the sanctity and impartiality of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), said the Chinese foreign minister. First, the arbitration unilaterally initiated by the former Philippine government violated the principle of having the consent of concerned parties as the basis of arbitration and failed to meet the prerequisite of conducting full exchange of views beforehand, thus lacking the legal conditions to be initiated. What the former Philippine government had done also abandoned bilateral agreements between China and the Philippines and violated Article 4 of the Declaration on Conducts of the Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) as well as the principle of estoppel prescribed in international law, according to Wang. Second, he said, the subject matters of the arbitration, however packaged, in fact directly concern territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation which are beyond the scope of the UNCLOS and the jurisdiction of the ad hoc tribunal. It is a typical act of overstepping the power and ultra vires as well as the abuse of dispute arbitration mechanism. Wang said by citing a prominent legal expert from Europe that the arbitration case undoubtedly touches upon territorial sovereignty which is not governed by the UNCLOS. The tribunal's practice of separating territorial sovereignty dispute with the status of islands and reefs is unseen in international law, which is like "putting the cart before the horse." Third, the ruling of the ad hoc tribunal is full of obvious mistakes, Wang said. It blatantly uses its self-invented rules to negate and deprive the lawful and legitimate territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interests of parties concerned. In particular, it says that Taiping Dao, the largest island in the Nansha Islands with an area of 500,000 square meters, is a rock and has no relevant maritime rights. If such a judgment can legally stand, the sea map of the world will need to be redrawn, Wang said. Wang stressed that this ruling runs counter to the spirit of international rule of law as well as the principle and spirit of the UNCLOS. "This arbitration is imbued with question marks and fallacies in terms of procedure, legal application, fact finding and evidence gathering," he said. The so-called ruling is illegal in three aspects: the initiation of the arbitration is illegal, the set-up of the tribunal is illegal, and the result of the arbitration is illegal. Therefore, China's stance is fully legitimate which serves the purpose of upholding international equity and justice and regional peace and stability, Wang said. The Chinese foreign minister said more and more countries have come to see the nature and danger of the arbitration case, and understand and acknowledge China's stance to resolve disputes through direct negotiation and consultation, calling for respect to the rights of sovereign states to independently choose dispute settlement means including respecting the declaration on optional exceptions made under Article 298 of the UNCLOS. There are also more and more legal experts around the world questioning the legality of the arbitration case and the fairness of the ruling, Wang said, noting that the illegal nature of the so-called South China Sea arbitration case and the political manipulation hidden behind the ad hoc arbitral tribunal will be further revealed.

One of church attackers tried to join IS in Syria: Paris prosecutor

Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins on Tuesday said one of the church attackers was known to intelligence services and tried to join radical insurgents in Syria twice in 2015. One of the knifemen who slaughtered a priest in a church northern France was "categorically identified" as Adel kermiche, 19, Molins told reporters. He was arrested twice last year after being intercepted by German police in March and Turkish authorities two months later last year while he tried to reach Syria using the ID of his cousin. Returning home, he had been under house arrest and had been wearing an electronic tag allowing police to monitor his moving. The identification of the second attacker was underway, Molins added. The two men armed with knives entered a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, on Tuesday morning mass and seized six people before killing a priest and seriously wounding another person. Paris prosecutor also confirmed that a 16-year-old teenager was placed under custody in the investigation. He was believed to be the brother of someone wanted by police for trying to go to Syria in the previous year. The two men shot dead by police had fake explosives and used nuns as human shields, he added.

Boycott calls grow against South Korea

Although the Chinese government has not imposed any sanctions following the US announcement to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system in South Korea, public calls to boycott South Korean pop stars and products have been growing on Chinese social media. The decision of Qingdao in East China's Shandong Province to postpone the visit of an official delegation from a South Korean sister city due to the "inappropriate atmosphere," as the local government puts it, is believed to be another sign of increasing strains in China-South Korea ties at the grass-roots level. "The visit of a delegation headed by Daegu mayor Kwon Young-jin in August was postponed for various reasons," an official at the Qingdao Foreign Affairs Office told the Global Times on Tuesday. "The timing is not appropriate and the atmosphere is not good," said the official, who requested anonymity. The official neither admitted nor denied whether the THAAD issue led to the postponement, only saying that some local people showed discontent after the deployment. Kwon and 90 city officials were scheduled to attend the Qingdao International Beer Festival in August, and the group was to open 11 booths at the festival to promote Korean fried chicken, South Korea's Joongang Daily reported on Monday. Qingdao and Daegu have been sister cities since 1993, a year after China and South Korea established diplomatic relations. The host of Qingdao's beer festival told the Global Times that they have not heard of any report saying the Daegu delegation is unwanted or was refused entry. The government official said that 19 people from Qingdao, including performers, will not attend the Daegu Chimac Festival which begins on Wednesday, though some Qingdao companies will still participate in the festival. In 2013, when the first Daegu Chimac Festival was held, and the following year, Qingdao sent 10 artists to perform at the festival. No one was sent last year because of the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the Joongang Daily reported. 'No idol before country' On July 8, the US and South Korea announced their decision to deploy the THAAD system in South Korea, which drew angry protest from Beijing. The decision, which was announced a few days before an arbitration court in The Hague was expected to rule on the maritime territorial disputes between China and the Philippines, has also hurt the feelings of many Chinese people, who previously regarded South Korea as a friendly neighbor, and the image of the country has been deteriorating ever since, Zheng Jiyong, director of the Center for Korean Studies of the Shanghai-based Fudan University, told the Global Times on Wednesday. The deployment also tarnished South Korean President Park Geun-hye's image among many Chinese, who felt the "always smiling and friendly president" had stabbed China in the back, said Dong Xiangrong, a research fellow at the National Institute of International Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Park won praise from China after she resisted US pressure and visited Beijing in September last year to observe a military parade to mark the defeat of Japan in World War II. Chinese netizens are calling for a boycott of Korean pop stars, such as boy bands BigBang, EXO and iKon, and actors like Song Joong-ki and Lee Jong-suk. The hashtag "No idols before country" on Chinese social media Sina Weibo has been viewed more than 15 million times as of press time, with many saying they had un-followed the South Korean entertainers' Weibo accounts. "Farewell, Big Bang, fried chicken, cosmetics made in South Korea, I love my country and there's no way I will contribute to the GDP of South Korea so that the country could buy weapons and use it against China," Sina Weibo user "Emily-Chun" wrote on Friday. The boycott also covers South Korean-made products and travel to the country, with Net users compiling a list of the 10 most visited South Korea tourist sites and 100 most popular products, with calls to support domestic substitutes. South Korean concerns Many South Koreans are also worried that the THAAD deployment will damage bilateral ties, and protests against the deployment have not stopped since the announcement was made. More than 2,000 people from Seongju County, where one THAAD battery will be deployed, staged a rally at a square in Seoul on Thursday to protest the THAAD deployment, the Xinhua News Agency reported. Also last week, hundreds of young people rallied outside South Korea's foreign ministry, holding signs saying "Peace and No THAAD" to protest the deployment and to demand its withdrawal, said Dong. Many South Koreans reject THAAD because they say it cannot protect the country and the deployment will create trouble in the region, experts said.

FM slams 3 countries’ ‘inappropriate’ statement

China's foreign minister on Tuesday condemned a statement on the South China Sea issue jointly released by the US, Japan and Australia, saying it is "inappropriate" and not conducive to regional peace and stability. The statement issued by the three countries on Monday said they strongly support the rule of law and called on China to abide by the arbitration tribunal's award. The statement said the ruling is final and legally binding. "From yesterday to today, what we can see is that countries in the region are determined to strengthen cooperation, hoping to de-escalate tensions in the South China Sea. However, the statement is still creating tensions," Wang Yi said on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit Foreign Minister's Meeting. Wang said that the statement is very "inappropriate" and runs counter to the situation's development. "If the three [the US, Japan and Australia] truly wish for stability in the South China Sea, they should support China and the ASEAN in implementing the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, support the resolution of disputes through consultations and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned. It is time to show who they really are, whether they are the peacekeepers or troublemakers," Wang said. US Secretary of State John Kerry met with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on Monday. The three ministers released the joint statement after their meeting. Meanwhile, another senior Chinese diplomat on Tuesday said he has confidence in the dialogue between China and the Philippines. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin confirmed to the Global Times on Tuesday that Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay has shown openness to talks. "He welcomed talks with China and said that he will make arrangements. It is a positive sign the Philippines, too, recognizes that negotiations are the right way to resolve disputes," Liu said. Former Philippine president Fidel Ramos has accepted his appointment as a special envoy to China after an arbitration tribunal ruled that China's claims within the nine-dash line are "baseless." China rejected the ruling and called it "null and void." Liu said China is waiting for further details from the Philippines, and aside from naming Ramos a special envoy, the Philippines probably has a lot of other things to do before bilateral talks can take place. "In fact, we are confident in talks between the two countries," Liu said. The 49th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting and related meetings ended on Tuesday.

Chinese airline denies flying over restricted airspace

A Chinese airline company Tuesday denied Russian media reports that four of its planes had entered restricted airspace above Seversk City in Southeast Russia's Tomsk state, where Russia's largest nuclear facilities are located. The planes were at least 10 kilometers away from forbidden airspace above Seversk, an anonymous official from the airline company claimed to the Global Times Tuesday. "Civil aircraft will not drift off the course provided by local national air traffic control departments," said the official. A Seversk resident, Evgeny Kornev, said he witnessed Friday four Chinese planes flying over the city, Russian newspaper Vzglyad reported Sunday, citing Tomsk News Agency TV2. "First I heard the noise of an airplane flying," said Kornev, "[Then I] logged on to flightradar24.com and saw a Chinese plane flying directly above Seversk, which had never happened before." Kornev said that the website recorded three other Chinese planes flying over the city in the next 24 hours. The airline company official said that the 24-hour flight radar website, whose data was quoted by Russian media, is incorrect. Seversk is an industrial city where Russia's largest nuclear facility is located, and all types of aircraft are forbidden from flying above the city, according to Vzglyad.

Foreign Ministry expecting fruitful Mongolia trip by Premier Li

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's upcoming visit to Mongolia will encourage closer alignment of China's Silk Road Economic Belt initiative with Mongolia's Prairie Road program, according to a senior official from the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Li's visit to Mongolia from July 13 to 14 will be the first by a Chinese premier in six years, and the first by any Chinese leader since the recent formation of Mongolia's new government. Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Kong Xuanyou told a press conference on Monday that the trip will strengthen bilateral relations and lead to more cooperation between the two neighbors. Li will hold talks with Mongolian Prime Minister Jargaltulga Erdenebat and they will jointly meet the press, said Kong. Li will also meet with Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj and Chairman of the State Great Hural (Mongolia's parliament) Miyegombo Enkhbold. Li and Erdenebat will exchange views on dovetailing the two countries' economic corridor initiatives, and more cooperation in trade, industrial capacity, energy, finance, agriculture and animal husbandry. The two sides will also discuss people-to-people exchanges and international and regional issues of common concern, said Kong. A number of cooperative agreements will be signed during Li's visit, which will inject new impetus into the development of bilateral ties and benefit people of the two nations, he added. Li will also attend the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit in Mongolian capital Ulan Bator from July 15 to 16. This year marks the 20th anniversary of ASEM since it was inaugurated in 1996 in Bangkok, Thailand. ASEM is now an intergovernmental forum with 53 members. The Chinese premier will deliver keynote speeches during the summit to elaborate China's proposition on ASEM's future development, Asia-Europe cooperation, as well as major international and regional issues, Kong said. During the summit, Li will also held bilateral meetings with leaders of some ASEM members, he added. As a founding member of the ASEM, China has put forward 28 proposals on Asia-Europe cooperation in fields including infrastructure connectivity, technology innovation, environmental protection, trade and investment, and urbanization. The members should foster a sense of community, enhance communication and coordination on policies and actions, so as to build the ASEM into an effective framework for coping with global challenges, including climate change, terrorism, refugee problems and infectious disease, said Kong.