FROLICKER CO., LTD.

China's former ambassador to the United States claims Western countries are treating the South Pacific like their "backyard" in a throwback to the colonial era, while Beijing sees the small island nations as equals.

Cui Tiankai made the remarks in an interview with CNN on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue defense summit in Singapore on Sunday.
In the interview, Cui -- who served as Beijing's envoy in Washington from 2013 to 2021 -- attempted to play down growing Western concerns over Beijing's controversial push for new economic and security agreements with Pacific islands.
He insisted China was taking a so-called modern approach to its relationship with its neighbors, and offering to help in "whatever way" it can, while claiming the mindset of Western countries was stuck in the past.
China's growing influence in the South Pacific has unsettled Washington, which sees the islands as a strategic link between the US territory of Guam and Australia and fears Beijing is becoming more aggressive in pursuing its agenda in the region while seeking to gain a military foothold.
But Cui claimed that China -- unlike the US and Australia -- did not view the region as part of a great power struggle.
"Maybe countries like Australia see these countries as (being their) own backyard, like the United States sees Latin America as its backyard according to the Monroe Doctrine," Cui said.
"I don't think that this is (how countries) should work with each other in the 21st century -- it is a part of the past."

This week in travel news, the United States is set to drop its Covid-19 testing requirement for inbound air travelers, and Japan is now allowing international tour groups.
Plus, the world's most expensive cities and the country with Europe's cleanest bathing spots have been revealed.
The floodgates are open
In one of the most anticipated travel developments this year, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is poised to lift its requirement for travelers to test negative for Covid-19 before entering the United States, CNN learned on Friday.
The measure has been in place since January 2021. The move is likely to encourage travelers around the world to plan a summer vacation in the States and encourage more US travelers to venture abroad knowing they're less likely to get stranded overseas with a positive test. Air travel has been far from smooth this season so far.
Japan also finally opened its borders to international tour groups on June 10, although individual travelers are not yet permitted to enter.

BeyondWords
A military aircraft with five Marines on board crashed in California on Wednesday, Fox News has confirmed.

The crash occurred near Glamis, located just a few miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border and west of the California-Arizona border.

A spokesperson for the United States Marine Corps confirmed to Fox News that the aircraft was an MV-22B Osprey belonging to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. Officials said they were awaiting confirmation on the status of the flight crew.

ingapore says it is facing a dengue "emergency" as it grapples with an outbreak of the seasonal disease that has come unusually early this year.

The Southeast Asian city-state has already exceeded 11,000 cases -- far beyond the 5,258 it reported throughout 2021 -- and that was before June 1, when its peak dengue season traditionally begins.
Experts are warning that it's a grim figure not only for Singapore -- whose tropical climate is a natural breeding ground for the Aedes mosquitoes that carry the virus -- but also for the rest of the world. That's because changes in the global climate mean such outbreaks are likely to become more common and widespread in the coming years.

China is offering its citizens cash rewards of up to and above 100,000 yuan ($15,000) for tip-offs about people who endanger national security, as authorities intensify a years-long campaign to weed out what they see as growing threats from foreign espionage and "hostile forces."

Successful informants can receive either "spiritual rewards" in certificates or "material rewards" in cash, according to regulations released by the Ministry of State Security on Monday.
The cash rewards are graded into four levels based on the value of the tip-off, ranging from less than 10,000 yuan ($1,500) to more than 100,000 yuan.
Tip-offs should be specific about the people or actions involved, and the information needs to be new to the authorities. The reports can be made in person, online, by post or through the state security hotline.
For years, Chinese authorities have encouraged the public to inform on foreign spies and their Chinese collaborators through propaganda and incentive campaigns -- efforts that have gathered pace under the country's leader Xi Jinping.
"We must ensure that national security is all for the people and all by the people, mobilizing the efforts of the whole Communist Party and whole society to bring together powerful forces to safeguard national security," Xi told officials in 2016.
In 2017, the Beijing municipal government began offering rewards of up to half a million yuan ($75,000) for anyone who helps to expose a spy. Within a year, authorities had received nearly 5,000 reports and handed out rewards to informants ranging from scientific researchers to cab drivers, according to state-run Beijing News.

In response to whether Taiwan wants to loosen the epidemic prevention policy, Executive President Su Zhenchang said in an interview today (7) that the epidemic has indeed reached a plateau now, and there is a gradual downward trend. We can adjust various situations according to our ability, and the command center will consider the situation, and then report the detailed situation to the Chinese people.

Su Zhenchang was interviewed before inspecting "Kelungjian German Children's Vaccination Situation" in the morning. Some media asked about reports that Taiwan will loosen its epidemic prevention policy, and it is expected to take off masks in July. The border will be opened in August at the earliest. Epidemic prevention is the key. The period will be reversed on June 10. Is there any further loosening plan?

Su Zhenchang said that with the joint efforts of our compatriots, we have worked hard for more than two years, and now is the most important, final critical moment, everyone will continue to endure and work hard, let us win this crucial battle and enter. Normal life.

Su Zhenchang also said that the epidemic has indeed come to a plateau now, and there is a gradual downward trend. The government will adjust the various situations according to the situation of the epidemic, the vaccination rate of vaccines, and the capacity of various medical treatments. The command center will consider the details. Report the situation to the people.