War Clouds Scud in East Asia

State Department protests as Yu Wensheng gets a three-year sentence

Secretary of State Blinken, October 31, in Washington.

While the press and the public focus on the U.S. presidential election and the war in the Middle East, the situation in Asia is deteriorating.

Over the past few days, a series of events has underscored the problems.

North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile. “We condemn it in the strongest terms, the latest launch of many and other provocative actions that it’s taken, flagrant violations all of multiple UN Security Council resolutions,” said Secretary of State Blinken on Thursday. I usually refrain from commenting on the physical appearance of policymakers, but the bags under Blinken’s eyes in the photo above tell you the story of America’s challenges in the Middle East, in Ukraine, and versus Communist China more eloquently than any sentence I can write. Blinken’s strong condemnation will probably have roughly the same effect that it has had on Russia’s invasion on Ukraine, on the Hezbollah and Iranian missile and drone attacks on Israel, on the Houthi attacks on international shipping—that is to say, not enough.

On October 29, courts in Communist China sentenced human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng to three years in prison and his wife, Xu Yan, to a year and nine months for allegedly “inciting subversion of state power.” A State Department press release reports, “These sentences demonstrate the PRC’s continuing efforts to silence those who speak out for human rights and the rule of law. During Yu and Xu’s trials, authorities barred the attendance of diplomats from several foreign missions, including those from the United States, undermining transparency that is critical to ensuring respect for Yu and Xu’s right to a fair trial.”

The statement says, “We call on the PRC to immediately and unconditionally release Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan. We also reiterate our request for the PRC to release all those unjustly detained or imprisoned. The United States continues to stand with those who bravely fight for human rights in the PRC and around the world.” The request is likely to be ignored, but credit to the State Department for at least making it publicly.

On October 31, a federal grand jury in Boston indicted a citizen of China, Xiao Zhang of Shanghai, for allegedly stealing trade secrets from a global investment management firm based in Boston.