Biden Monitoring China Covid Unrest

People gather to protest the Chinese governments continued continued zero-Covid policies at the University of California Berkeley campus in Berkeley, California, on November 28, 2022. (AFP)
People gather to protest the Chinese governments continued continued zero-Covid policies at the University of California Berkeley campus in Berkeley, California, on November 28, 2022. (AFP)
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Biden Monitoring China Covid Unrest

People gather to protest the Chinese governments continued continued zero-Covid policies at the University of California Berkeley campus in Berkeley, California, on November 28, 2022. (AFP)
People gather to protest the Chinese governments continued continued zero-Covid policies at the University of California Berkeley campus in Berkeley, California, on November 28, 2022. (AFP)

US President Joe Biden is monitoring unrest in China by protesters demanding an end to Covid lockdowns and greater political freedoms, the White House said Monday.

The comments came after hundreds of people took to the streets in China's major cities over the weekend, in a rare outpouring of public frustration that has spread to international Chinese-speaking communities.

"He's monitoring this. We all are," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday.

Kirby would not describe Biden's reaction to the demonstrators' demands, saying: "The president's not going to speak for protesters around the world. They're speaking for themselves."

But he stressed US support for the demonstrators' rights.

"People should be allowed the right to assemble and to peacefully protest policies or laws or dictates that they take issue with," Kirby said.

Earlier Monday, the US State Department implied that China's strict lockdown policies were excessive, with a spokesperson saying "it's going to be very difficult" for China to "contain this virus through their zero-Covid strategy."

Discontent has been brewing for months in China over harsh coronavirus control measures, with relentless testing, localized lockdowns and travel restrictions pushing many to the brink.

That frustration was brought to a head after a deadly fire broke out last week in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China's Xinjiang region, with many blaming Covid-19 lockdowns for hampering rescue efforts.

Around the United States, notably on university campuses, rallies sprang up Monday in support of the protests in China.

Around 100 people, many of them students, gathered in Washington to call for greater freedoms and mourn those who died in Urumqi.

"(Officials) are borrowing the pretext of Covid, but using excessively strict lockdowns to control China's population. They disregarded human lives," said a Chinese student surnamed Chen.

"I came here to grieve," the 21-year-old added.



Greenland Independence Is Possible but Joining the US Unlikely, Denmark Says

The Greenlandic (L) and Danish flags are pictured at the Ministry of Finance in Copenhagen on January 8, 2025. (AFP)
The Greenlandic (L) and Danish flags are pictured at the Ministry of Finance in Copenhagen on January 8, 2025. (AFP)
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Greenland Independence Is Possible but Joining the US Unlikely, Denmark Says

The Greenlandic (L) and Danish flags are pictured at the Ministry of Finance in Copenhagen on January 8, 2025. (AFP)
The Greenlandic (L) and Danish flags are pictured at the Ministry of Finance in Copenhagen on January 8, 2025. (AFP)

Greenland may become independent if its residents want, but is unlikely to become a US state, Denmark's foreign minister said on Wednesday after US President-elect Donald Trump refused to rule out force to take control of the Arctic island.

Greenland's leader held talks on Wednesday with the Danish king in Copenhagen, a day after Trump's remarks thrust the fate of the mineral-rich and strategically important island, which is under Danish rule, to the top of world headlines.

Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, said on Tuesday he would not rule out using military or economic action to make Greenland part of the United States. The same day, Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., made a private visit to Greenland.

Greenland, part of NATO through the membership of Denmark, has strategic significance for the US military and for its ballistic missile early-warning system since the shortest route from Europe to North America runs via the Arctic island.

The president-elect has indicated he would pursue a more combative foreign policy that disregards traditional diplomatic formalities.

Greenland, the world's biggest island, has been part of Denmark for 600 years although its 57,000 people now govern their own domestic affairs. The island's government led by Prime Minister Mute Egede aims for eventual independence.

"We fully recognize that Greenland has its own ambitions. If they materialize, Greenland will become independent, though hardly with an ambition to become a federal state in the United States," Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said.

He told reporters the United States' heightened security concerns in the Arctic were legitimate following increased Russian and Chinese activity in the region.

"I don't think that we're in a foreign policy crisis," he said. "We are open to a dialogue with the Americans on how we can possibly cooperate even more closely than we do to ensure that the American ambitions are fulfilled."

Still, although Denmark itself played down the seriousness of Trump's threat to its territory, the returning president's openly stated ambition to expand US borders has jolted European allies less than two weeks before he takes office.

France's foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, said Europe would not let other nations attack its sovereign borders, although he did not believe the US would invade.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed surprise at Trump's comments about Greenland and Canada, underlining that European partners unanimously uphold the inviolability of borders as a cornerstone of international law.

STRAINED RELATIONS

Greenland's relations with Denmark have lately been strained by allegations of colonial-era mistreatment of Greenlanders. Egede has said the island is not for sale, while in his New Year speech he stepped up his push for independence. Denmark says the territory's fate can be decided only by Greenlanders.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday she could not imagine Trump's ambitions would lead to US military intervention in Greenland. Denmark's military capabilities there are limited to four inspection vessels, a Challenger surveillance plane and dog sled patrols.

Responding to Trump's threat of tariffs against Denmark, which according to analysts at Danske Bank could potentially be "quite harmful to Danish companies, Frederiksen said she did not think a trade war with the United States was a good way forward.

Denmark is home to Novo Nordisk, Europe's most valuable company, which makes weight-loss drug Wegovy that has become hugely popular in the United States, the Nordic country's biggest trading partner.

The Danish royal palace gave no details ahead of King Frederik's meeting in Copenhagen on Wednesday with Greenland's Prime Minister Egede.

While many Greenlanders dream of independence from Denmark, the king remains popular on the island, having spent extended periods there, including a four-month expedition on the ice sheet. Last month, the royal court modified its coat of arms, enlarging a polar bear that symbolizes Greenland.

"I'm sure the king is really the person best placed in Denmark to deal with this issue right now because he has a long history with Greenland," Damien Degeorges, a Reykjavik-based consultant specializing in Greenland, told Reuters.

"He's popular in Greenland. So he can clearly be helpful to the Danish-Greenlandic relationship."

Trump already raised the issue of the US taking over Greenland during his first presidency, but his latest remarks still left many Danes baffled.

"I find it extremely ridiculous," said Jeppe Finne Sorenson, a data engineer in the Danish capital. "We have an alliance, we're allies. So this doesn't really respect that."