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End of siege of HK Polytechnic University, discovery of cache of petrol bombs and weapons and HK Human Rights and Democracy Act

Live TV interview with RT on 29 November, 2019

The Hong Kong Protests: behind the smoke and mirrors

TV panel discussion on 21 November, 2019 with A News, a popular English TV Channel in Turkey, providing an in-depth analysis of the Hong Kong chaos. (Move the time counter to about the middle of the video clip to watch the start of my intervention.)

The following earlier A News exclusive TV interview of 3 July 2019 captures the essence of the political turmoil as it started to turn ugly at that time.

A video prepared by the Hong Kong Information Services Department provides statistics of the violent end of these protests. 

Testimony by Deputy Commissioner of Police Oscar Kwok at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council Meeting in Geneva on 9 March, 2020.

Download Video 2020-03-09 

 

The Global Distrust Crisis - MEDays Forum 2019 - 13-16 November, 2019, Tangier, Morocco

The MEDays Forum is an annual international conference in Tangier focussing on global issues attended by hundreds of delegates across the world. It is organized by the Amadeus Institute, a think tank under the auspices of HRH The King of Morocco. The 2019 Forum had the theme of "The Global Distrust Crisis". I was invited to speak at a plenary and a business and policy session on 16 November.

Following were my speaking notes. 

Download 2019 MEDays Forum Speaking Notes - Global Disorder

Download 2019 MEDays Speaking Notes - Energy War

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Hong Kong protests after Beijing's Fourth Plenum

Talk the Walk on HKIBC (Hong Kong International Business Channel, Cable TV Channel 76)

Part One

Part Two 

US National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence - November 2019 Interim Report

The National Security Commission Interim Report flags up Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the digital age's defining battlefield for economic, technological and security dominance.

While confirming the United States' current lead in innovation and application, China, along with Russia, is fast catching up. China is expected to overtake the US in the top 10% of most-cited research papers next year and the top 1% by 2025. The country is poised to overtake US in absolute R & D spending without ten years (p.17). The Report omits to highlight that China also excels in "associated technologies" of quantum computing and 5G, both with security implications. 

As China has become both a collaborator and a threat in AI research and application, the Report pushes for redoubled R & D funding, application of AI to security missions, training and recruting AI talent, protecting building upon American AI advantages, and marshalling gobal AI cooperation. 

The Report devotes a great deal of coverage to the emerging threat of China's AI ascendancy, including perceived intellectual property theft or espionage.

Considering the importance attached to AI's national security implications, it comes as no surprise that regardless of any temporary truce in the US-China trade war, America's bipartisan pushback against China's technological ambitions including AI and 5G remains non-negotiable. 

Download NSCAI Interim Report for Congress 2019 November  

Over 200 demonstrators arrested after weekend of increased violence

Live TV interview with RT on 4 November, 2019