HONG KONG
The State Department condemned the arrest of five senior executives from Apple Daily and their parent company, Next Digital by Hong Kong authorities. In an ongoing campaign of suppression of free speech, officials have wielded the national security law as a tool to suppress independent media, to silence dissenting views, and to stifle freedom of expression. The State Department Spokesman, Ned Price, said these actions “undermine Beijing’s obligations, their own obligations under the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which is a binding international agreement, to uphold Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy and protected rights and freedoms.” He called on authorities to “stop targeting the independent and free media.” Efforts to stifle media freedom and to restrict the free flow of information have undermined Hong Kong’s democratic institutions and the business community in recent years.
IRAN
The State Department said it is continuing indirect talks with the Iranian government concerning its ongoing failure to comply with nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA. Iran’s production of uranium is now enriched up to 60 percent. Price said “That is of continuing serious concern. If Iran wants the diplomatic solution it says it seeks, it must set aside such provocative steps.” In a weak statement Price said: “We would like to build and be in a position to build on the meaningful progress that has been achieved during the last round of talks.” The IAEA-Iran deal expires on June 24th if the 6th round of diplomatic talks fail.
CHINA
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GERMANY
A written statement issued by the State Department said that Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met with German State Secretary Miguel Berger today in Washington, D.C. The lead in the release said that Sherman discussed climate change and added “They also discussed the importance of cooperating on a joint approach to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia… The Deputy Secretary underscored the importance of European energy security, reiterating the United States’ opposition to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.” In recent days it appears that the Biden Administration is placing additional emphasis on climate change over other great power challenges.
RUSSIA
In a briefing this week by a senior State Department official concerning the President’s recent meeting with Russian President Putin, the official said that Biden talked about his approach to Russia but it “Doesn’t mean that’s going to convince him [Putin] at all. It does mean that by sharing that, communicating it clearly, maybe it lessens a little bit the possibility of miscommunication, misunderstanding. And I think the President believes very strongly in being – just being very clear and direct, and that was the nature of the meeting.” The briefing was couched in vague terms such as there was “some productive movement in a few areas” and Washington got “an agreement to get our experts together to consult on issues….” The official concluded by stating that: “The real purpose is to have this direct engagement to be able to be very clear about what we stand for, why we stand for it, where our concerns are, and where we think there may be opportunities to work together and to bring a little bit more stability and predictability into the relationship… I think, again, the positive, productive step was an agreement to get teams and experts together, but it – this is going to take a while to see if there’s any real traction.” It appears little progress was made between the two world leaders.