. Medical and Hospital News .




.
THE STANS
China shunning Palau for taking Uighurs: president
by Staff Writers
Koror, Palau (AFP) July 19, 2011

Chinese investment in Palau has dried up since the Pacific nation granted asylum to six former Guantanamo detainees from the Chinese Muslim Uighur minority, President Johnson Toribiong said this week.

Responding to questions from a US Senate committee about China's reaction to Palau's decision to accept the Uighurs in 2009, Toribiong said his government had faced sustained pressure from Beijing.

"In three separate meetings with Palau's UN mission, the government of China stated that it considered this 'a very serious issue for Chinese-Palauan relations'," Toribiong said in a written response released this week.

"(China said) that the issue was 'not a legal issue but a political one' and, ominously, that China had 'a long memory'."

The Uighurs were part of a group of 22 arrested at a camp in the mountains of Afghanistan after the US-led invasion of the country began in October 2001, a month after the September 11 attacks on the United States.

The men, from China's remote northwestern region of Xinjiang, were detained at Guantanamo Bay but cleared of any wrongdoing four years later, prompting Beijing to call for their repatriation.

The United States refused to send them back to China for fear they would be persecuted after Beijing described them as terrorist suspects.

Palau, formerly a US-administered territory and still heavily reliant on US aid, eventually agreed to take them on a temporary basis until a permanent home could be found for them. They still remain there.

Toribiong said that shortly after the Uighurs' arrival, construction stopped on a Chinese-backed five-star hotel in Palau even though the 100-room project was almost finished.

"I am advised that the Chinese investor, who by that time had invested several million dollars into the project, can no longer get money out of China for the project," he said.

Toribiong also said that "a previously expected increase in Chinese tourist arrivals to Palau never materialised" after the country agreed to take in the Uighurs.

He said Palau, which has a population of about 20,000, had agreed to Washington's request to take the Uighurs "without hesitation, when no other nation would even consider providing such refuge".

The Palau leader was responding to questions from a US Senate committee which is determining how Washington should fund the Pacific state under a compact of free association between the two countries.




Related Links
News From Across The Stans

.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries






. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



THE STANS
Petraeus steps down in Afghanistan
Kabul (AFP) July 18, 2011
General David Petraeus, the most celebrated military leader of his generation, stepped down as US commander in Afghanistan on Monday after a checkered year at the helm of what is America's longest war. At a ceremony in Kabul Petraeus passed the baton to John Allen, a former subordinate who made his name in Iraq by striking tribal alliances considered integral in reversing Al-Qaeda's momentum ... read more


THE STANS
Japan's lower house approves 2nd recovery budget

Efforts to stabilise nuclear crisis on track - Japan

Gym workout caused tremor at Seoul building: experts

Stabilising Japan nuclear crisis on schedule: PM

THE STANS
Boeing: 2nd Boeing GPS IIF Satellite Ready for Launch from Cape Canaveral

Apple makes first S. Korea payout over tracking

A new algorithm could help prevent midair collisions

AI Solutions to Assist Air Force with GPS Satellite Positioning Data and Analyzing GPS Anomalies

THE STANS
Brain's 'clock' less accurate with aging

New material could offer hope to those with no voice

Dhaka and Delhi launch census in enclaves

Cracking the Code of the Mind

THE STANS
Kenya burns five tonnes of ivory

Editing the genome: rewriting the code of life

Loss of top animal predators has massive ecological effects

New elegant technique used for genomic archaeology

THE STANS
'Swine flu' breath test could reduce future vaccination shortages

AIDS: Science has delivered on HIV prevention. Now what?

Reservoir dogs: Scientists aim at HIV's last holdout

Africans on HIV drugs can expect normal lifespan - study

THE STANS
China stands firm against Tibet separatism

China tells Tibet monks to 'break with separatists'

Clash in China's Xinjiang killed 20: exile group

China vows to crush stability threats in Tibet

THE STANS
Denmark to hand over 24 pirates to Kenya for trial

Chinese ship released by pirates: EU

South Korea jails Somali pirates

US Navy recruits gamers to help in piracy strategy

THE STANS
More Chinese cities see home prices fall in June

Sony Ericsson falls into red, says afflicted by Japan quake

Obama calls new debt talks under China pressure

China ratings agency issues warning on US debt


Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily Express :: SpaceWar Express :: TerraDaily Express :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News
.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2011 - Space Media Network. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement