BEJING: China on Sunday denounced US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for calling the Asian country a threat, accusing him of touting a Cold War mentality as tensions between Washington and Beijing further escalate.
The foreign ministry said Hegseth had vilified Beijing with defamatory allegations the previous day before at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a global security conference. The statement also accused the United States of inciting conflict and confrontation in the region.
“Hegseth deliberately ignored the call for peace and development by countries in the region, and instead touted the Cold War mentality for bloc confrontation,” it said, referring to the post-World War II rivalry between the US and the former Soviet Union.
“No country in the world deserves to be called a hegemonic power other than the US itself,” it said, alleging that Washington is also undermining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific.
Hegseth said in Singapore on Saturday that Washington will bolster its defenses overseas to counter what the Pentagon sees as rapidly developing threats by Beijing, particularly in its aggressive stance toward Taiwan.
China’s army “is rehearsing for the real deal,” Hegseth said. “We are not going to sugarcoat it — the threat China poses is real. And it could be imminent.”
The Chinese statement stressed that the Taiwan question is entirely China’s internal affair, saying the US must “never play with fire” with it. It also alleged Washington had deployed offensive weaponry in the South China Sea, was “stoking flames and creating tensions in the Asia-Pacific” and “turning the region into a powder keg.”
In a Facebook post on Saturday, China’s Embassy in Singapore said Hegseth’s speech was “steeped in provocations and instigation.”
The US and China had reached a deal last month to cut US President Donald Trump’s tariffs from 145 percent to 30 percent for 90 days, creating time for negotiators from both sides to reach a more substantive agreement. China also reduced its taxes on US goods from 125 percent to 10 percent.
But it’s uncertain if a trade war truce will last. Trump in a social media post on Friday said he would no longer be “nice” with China when it comes to trade and accused Beijing of breaking an unspecified agreement with the US
Tensions escalated anew after the US said on Wednesday it would start revoking visas for Chinese students studying there.
Separately, the Chinese Embassy in Singapore criticized attempts to link the issue of Taiwan with that of the war in Ukraine after French President Emmanuel Macron warned of a dangerous double standard in focusing on a potential conflict with China at the cost of abandoning Ukraine.
The embassy made no mention of Macron in its post on Facebook that included a photo showing the French president at the Singapore forum.
“If one tries to denounce ‘double standards’ through the lens of a double standard, the only result we can get is still double standard,” it said.
China, which usually sends its defense minister to the Shangri-La forum, this time sent a lower-level delegation led by Maj. Gen. Hu Gangfeng, the vice president of the People’s Liberation Army National Defense University.
China says Hegseth is touting a Cold War mentality in calling it a threat
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China says Hegseth is touting a Cold War mentality in calling it a threat
- The Chinese foreign ministry said Hegseth had vilified Beijing with defamatory allegations the previous day before at the Shangri-La Dialogue
Louvre Museum closed as workers launch rolling strike
- After the memo, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a massive renovation plan for the museum, expected to cost €700 million to €800 million (up to $940 million)
PARIS: The Louvre closed its doors to thousands of disappointed visitors on Monday as staff launched a rolling strike to protest working conditions at the Paris landmark, two months after a shocking robbery.
Staff assembled outside the museum’s world-famous glass pyramid, blocking the main entrance and holding signs, as security agents turned tourists away.
“The Louvre on strike,” said a banner.
FASTFACTS
• Staff assembled outside the museum’s world-famous glass pyramid, blocking the main entrance and holding signs, as security agents turned tourists away.
• The Louvre has become a symbol of so-called ‘over-tourism,’ with the 30,000 daily visitors facing what unions call an ‘obstacle course’ of hazards. course’ of hazards.
“All together all together,” striking staff shouted. “Who does the Louvre belong to? To us!“
Workers are demanding extra staff and measures to tackle overcrowding, adding to the woes of the world’s most visited museum just as France gears up for the Christmas holidays.
“We are angry,” Elize Muller, a security guard, told reporters. “We disagree with the way the Louvre has been managed.”
The strike comes nearly two months after the museum was victim of an embarrassing daylight heist that saw crown jewels worth $102 million stolen.
A notice in the museum’s courtyard said the Louvre would remain closed on Monday.
At a general meeting, around 400 employees voted unanimously to launch a strike, which can be renewed, to protest the “deterioration” of working conditions, the CGT and CFDT unions said.
Another general meeting was scheduled to take place Wednesday. The museum is closed on Tuesdays.
“I’m very disappointed, because the Louvre was the main reason for our visit in Paris, because we wanted to see the ‘Mona Lisa’,” said 37-year-old Minsoo Kim, who had traveled from Seoul with his wife for their honeymoon.
Natalia Brown, a 28-year-old tourist from London, said she understands “why they’re doing it,” but called it “unfortunate timing for us.”
Rachel Adams, a 60-year-old real estate agent from Utah, said she had heard of the plans to strike.
“I think that the Louvre makes a lot of money and they should be handling their finances quite a bit better. They had the big water leak. I mean, this is important stuff.”
Speaking on the eve of the action, Christian Galani, from the hard-left CGT union, said the strike would have broad support across the museum’s 2,200-strong workforce.
“We’re going to have a lot more strikers than usual,” Galani said.
“Normally, it’s front-of-house and security staff. This time, there are scientists, documentarians, collections managers, even curators and colleagues in the workshops telling us they plan to go on strike.”
All have different grievances, adding up to a picture of staff discontent inside the institution, just as it finds itself in a harsh public spotlight following the shocking robbery on Oct. 19.
Reception and security staff complain they are understaffed and required to manage vast flows of people, with the home of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” welcoming several million people beyond its planned capacity each year.
A spontaneous walk-out protest in June led the museum to temporarily close.
The Louvre has become a symbol of so-called “over-tourism,” with the 30,000 daily visitors facing what unions call an “obstacle course” of hazards, long queues, and sub-standard toilets and catering.
Documentarians and curators are increasingly horrified by the state of disrepair inside the former royal palace, with a recent water leak and the closure of a gallery due to structural problems underlining the difficulties.
“The building is not in a good state,” chief Louvre architect Francois Chatillon admitted in front of lawmakers last month.
Under-fire Louvre boss Laurence des Cars, who faces persistent calls to resign, warned the government in January in a widely publicized memo about leaks, overheating and the declining visitor experience.
After the memo, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a massive renovation plan for the museum, expected to cost €700 million to €800 million (up to $940 million).
Questions continue to swirl since the break-in over whether it was avoidable and why the national treasure appeared to be poorly protected.
Two intruders used a portable extendable ladder to access the gallery containing the crown jewels, cutting through a glass door with angle grinders in front of startled visitors before stealing eight priceless items.
Investigations have since revealed that only one security camera was working outside when they struck, that guards in the control room did not have enough screens to watch the coverage in real time, and that police were initially misdirected.
