分类： politics

Four-year-old Huanle clasps her small hands together each night, whispering a quiet prayer for the mother she has not seen in nearly a year. It has been 12 months since Chinese security forces raided the family’s home, arresting her mother Wang Cong, a pastor with the unregistered Zion Church — one of China’s largest unofficial Christian congregations — in a nationwide crackdown on unapproved religious groups. Since that night, Wang and seven other detained Zion Church members have remained in custody, their cases entangled in a legal limbo that has left their loved ones clinging to faith amid mounting uncertainty.

Wang was among more than 20 Zion Church members taken into custody during coordinated raids last October, a sweep that targeted one of the most prominent of China’s so-called “underground churches”. Millions of Chinese Christians opt to worship in these unregistered communities rather than attend the government-approved Protestant and Catholic associations the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) formally recognizes. The CCP requires all its members to be atheist and has long viewed unregulated organized religious activity as a potential challenge to its authority, despite a constitutional provision that guarantees Chinese citizens freedom of religious belief.

For believers who choose unregistered congregations, official oversight of state-sanctioned churches is too extensive, granting the government unacceptable control over church leadership, service content, and religious doctrine. Since Xi Jinping took office as China’s president, nationwide scrutiny of unapproved religious groups has intensified, even as enforcement levels shift across regions. Zion Church was first forced to shut down its physical gathering spaces in 2018, but the congregation grew rapidly by moving online during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns that forced most social activity digital.

Ezra Jin, Zion’s founding pastor, was also detained in last October’s crackdown, but was released from custody this July — just weeks after then-U.S. President Donald Trump raised Jin’s case during talks with Xi. Jin has since reunited with his family, who relocated to the U.S. in 2018 as pressure on the church mounted. But for Wang and the seven other remaining detainees, their legal process has only moved forward. Their trials, originally scheduled for mid-August in Beihai, the southern coastal Chinese city where Jin previously resided, have been postponed, and authorities have formally indicted the group on charges of fraud and operating an unlicensed business.

Ren Zhong, Wang’s husband and himself a preacher with the church, described the night of the raid to AFP in an interview at his temporary Beihai home. Seven unidentified officers forced their way into the family’s then-Beijing residence, he said, pinning him to the floor as four-year-old Huanle watched from her mother’s arms, before officers tore the child away and led Wang away. A full year later, the family has still not been allowed to speak to her directly. Ren initially held out hope that Jin’s release would pave the way for his wife’s freedom, but the opposite happened: authorities moved to indict the group just two weeks after Jin left China to join his family in the U.S.

“After I heard the news of Jin’s release, I was shocked and afraid to believe it,” Ren, 36, told reporters. “But after joy came worry, worry for my wife, because she was still inside, suffering.”

According to legal documents reviewed by Ren, the core of the prosecution’s case hinges on the collection of church offerings by Wang and other leaders. Because Zion Church is not registered with the government, authorities argue the collection of roughly 660,000 yuan ($98,000) in donations between 2019 and 2024 counts as fraudulent activity. Ren rejects this framing entirely, noting that the collection of tithes from congregants to pay pastor salaries and cover church costs is a core tenet of Christian practice worldwide. “If it’s because of this that my wife has been charged with fraud, then I think this is actually not an accusation against my wife,” he said. “It is a denial of the Christian faith as a whole.”

Relatives of the other detainees say the legal outcome makes little sense after Jin’s release. Gao Guangjun, 76, whose son Gao Yingjia is among the detained pastors, argues that it is unjust for senior church leadership to be released while lower-profile members remain in custody. “It shouldn’t be that the head pastor is fine, but people below him… are in trouble,” Gao said. “It’s a little hard to justify.”

From his new home in the United States, Jin said he carries deep guilt over his freedom while his former colleagues remain detained. “I am deeply conflicted, truly torn. I am free, yet in reality, I am not,” the 57-year-old pastor told AFP. He recently drafted a message through his legal team urging the eight detainees to hold fast to their beliefs, writing, “I hope that one day their children will understand that their parents’ separation from them — and their current detention — is a source of honour. For the sake of a higher conviction, they are paying a price.”

Back in Beihai, Ren has given up his full-time work to care for Huanle and advocate for his wife, sharing updates about the case on his X account, which has just a few hundred followers. To outside observers, the young girl appears largely carefree — dancing around the small apartment to imagined music — but Ren says the trauma of the raid still lingers. There are nights, he says, when Huanle refuses to sleep, telling him she is scared and misses her mother.

When asked for comment on the detentions, China’s foreign ministry stated that Beijing “manages religious affairs in accordance with the law”. AFP reached out to the Beihai Public Security Bureau and local detention facilities for additional comment, but officials declined to accept interviews.

Ren says he faces the real possibility that Wang could be convicted and sentenced to up to 10 years in prison on the fraud charge, but over the past year, his worry has given way to quiet conviction. “I believe God is just,” he said. “I know God has not forgotten about these eight people.” Gao, also a Christian, echoed that quiet faith, acknowledging that the final outcome rests entirely in the hands of Chinese authorities. “It’s for leaders to decide,” he said. “It’s not something ordinary citizens can influence.”

Six months after launching a military offensive against Iran that he predicted would end in a rapid, decisive victory, U.S. President Donald Trump has increasingly avoided discussing the ongoing conflict, shifting between boredom and outright denial as the war drags on and becomes a growing political liability ahead of pivotal midterm elections.

At an impromptu White House press event last week focused on renovations to the presidential residence, Trump spent far more time gushing about upgraded infrastructure than addressing the Iran conflict. After leading reporters on a walking tour of the South Lawn to showcase his recent construction changes, he talked at length about new helipad upgrades, the planned presidential ballroom, and imported granite paving stones – uttering the word “granite” 13 times over the 36-minute appearance, while mentioning Iran just three times. When pressed directly on the state of the conflict, Trump brushed off questions, claiming “the situation is so good.”

Official Pentagon data tells a far grimmer story: at least 18 American service members have been killed in the war, and more than 750 have been wounded. Casualty counts are far higher in Iran and neighboring Lebanon, where thousands of civilians and combatants have died since the conflict began in February, when the U.S. joined Israel in launching operations against Iran.

For Trump, the war has not unfolded according to his original plan. He initially expected a quick win, mirroring what he framed as a successful operation earlier this year that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. After a brief ceasefire was announced in April, Trump prematurely declared “total and complete victory.” But the truce quickly collapsed, and Iran refused to capitulate to U.S. demands. As the conflict dragged on, Trump shifted his strategy from large-scale military action to economic pressure, while altering his justifications for launching the war – from pushing for regime change to preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran has also maintained control over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy chokepoint that became a flashpoint only after the conflict began.

By June, Trump himself acknowledged his growing disengagement with the stalled talks, telling reporters “Frankly, I thought they started to get very boring.” Foreign policy experts point to Trump’s well-documented short attention span as a key factor in his shifting stance. “He was convinced that he could repeat what happened with Venezuela – a rapid show of force that ended quickly,” explained Garret Martin, a foreign policy expert at American University. “I think now he’s in a position where there is no easy exit.”

The political fallout from the conflict has already pulled Trump’s approval ratings down sharply. Since his return to office in 2025, his public support has steadily declined, with the drop accelerating after the war began. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in mid-August put his approval rating at just 33 percent, the lowest mark of his current term. Other major national surveys also show Trump with net negative approval across the country.

Even core supporters from his Make America Great Again (MAGA) base are questioning the conflict. Trump ran on a campaign promise of avoiding new foreign entanglements, yet now the U.S. is mired in a conflict with no clear exit strategy. “Is there a rabbit in the hat? No, I think the hat is empty,” said William Galston, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, in an interview with AFP.

The war has also had a direct impact on American household finances, stoking widespread voter anger. Gasoline prices have surged to well over $4 per gallon nationwide, up from a $3.14 average a year ago, and the energy price spike has driven broader inflation across consumer goods. Joe Plenzler, a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, summed up the discontent shared by many voters: “I think it’s completely unnecessary, and that it was a reckless war, and I think it’s going very badly. The impact on the American consumer has gone up tremendously.” Plenzler noted that dissatisfaction is growing even in rural Virginia, a typically solid Republican region.

The coming November midterm elections represent the first major political reckoning for Trump over the Iran war. Analysts warn that widespread voter discontent could cost Republicans their narrow majority in the House of Representatives, and potentially flip control of the Senate as well. A Democratic takeover of either chamber would derail Trump’s remaining legislative agenda and put him at risk of a third impeachment trial before his second term ends in 2029.

While Trump has largely avoided discussing the conflict in public, experts do not believe he has completely disengaged from managing it. His focus on building a legacy ahead of leaving office in 2029 means he will continue to look for a path out of the quagmire. “I think he cares about his standing in history,” Galston said. But he added that Trump seems to be prioritizing cosmetic projects over policy achievements: “Maybe he believes that statues and buildings and other things named for him will substitute for the kind of performance in office that makes you a memorable president.”

What began as a routine round of cross-border trade negotiations between North America’s two largest economic partners has devolved into a full trade dispute, with an unexpected cultural issue—protection of the French language and Quebec’s unique cultural identity—taking center stage in the escalating tensions. The breakdown of talks last week has left both sides imposing punitive new tariffs, marking one of the most serious rifts in US-Canada trade relations in recent decades.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has framed the dispute as far more than a disagreement over industrial tariffs and market access. In his remarks, Carney confirmed that beyond traditional trade sticking points, Washington had put forward unacceptable demands that directly threatened the survival of French linguistic protections and Quebec’s distinct cultural framework. Issues on the negotiating table included Canada’s existing subsidies for Francophone cultural production, regulatory requirements for bilingual product labeling across the country, and rules governing French-language content on digital online media—all of which Carney characterized as non-negotiable fundamental rights for Canadians.

Carney added that the US demands extended far beyond cultural policy, alleging that Washington was seeking to cripple Canada’s core automotive, steel, and aluminum manufacturing sectors, while also imposing restrictive limits on Canada’s ability to negotiate independent trade agreements with other global nations. In response to the US’s imposition of additional tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian exports bound for the US market—including doubled tariffs on all Canadian passenger vehicles—Carney has pledged a symmetrical retaliation, promising to match new American tariffs “dollar for dollar” on US goods entering Canada.

Unlike most trade disputes that divide public opinion across regional lines, Carney’s decision to walk away from negotiations has earned overwhelming public support in Quebec, the province at the heart of the cultural identity debate. A recent poll released Sunday by the Angus Reid Institute recorded that 85% of Quebec voters back the prime minister’s choice to end talks, the highest approval rating recorded in any of Canada’s 10 provinces. Quebec Premier Christine Frechette echoed this hardline stance in a social media post over the weekend, writing plainly, “Our identity is not negotiable.”

Frechette, who is locked in a tough re-election fight this October and currently trails the leader of the Quebec separatist party in public polling, has confirmed that US negotiators targeted key Quebec regulatory policies, including local rules for appliance manufacturing instructions and the province’s landmark law mandating minimum French-language cultural content. In recent years, Quebec has passed new legislation granting the provincial government authority to set quotas for French-language content on digital streaming and social media platforms, and to require that content be featured prominently on platform interfaces. The Montreal Gazette has noted that these requirements increase operational costs for US-based digital companies operating in the Canadian market.

For their part, US trade officials have downplayed the framing of the dispute as a conflict over French linguistic rights. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer dismissed the centrality of the language issue in an interview with CNBC on Monday, calling it a “funny fake story.” Greer clarified that the core US objection is not to Quebec’s protection of French culture, but to a Canadian policy that requires US tech companies to contribute a portion of their Canadian earnings to fund domestic Canadian media competitors. “But I understand why the Quebecois want to have French language content and all of that. And we think that’s a really valuable thing,” Greer added, seeking to soften the perception of US opposition to Quebec’s cultural policies.

The unexpected fusion of trade policy and cultural identity politics has created a deeply divided negotiating landscape, with Carney confirming that a “huge gap” remains between Canadian and American perspectives on the core issues at stake. As both sides prepare to implement retaliatory tariffs, the dispute has highlighted how cultural protection priorities can upend traditional trade negotiations, turning an economic discussion into a fight over national and regional identity.

In a significant shift in bilateral relations that caps months of diplomatic outreach, the United States formally completed two key delisting actions on Monday: removing Syria from its roster of state sponsors of terrorism and revoking the global terrorist designation for Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the militant-turned-governing group that led the overthrow of former long-ruling dictator Bashar al-Assad late last year. Corresponding sanctions relief was also announced by the US Treasury Department, ending decades of harsh economic restrictions that had isolated Syria from the global financial system.

The political landscape of Syria shifted dramatically in December 2024, when HTS-led rebel forces swept through Damascus and toppled the Assad regime, which had held authoritarian control over the country for 54 years. HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has rebranded himself as a unifying national leader after cutting ties to Al-Qaeda in 2016, now serves as Syria’s interim president as the country embarks on reconstruction after 13 years of devastating civil war that has left hundreds of thousands dead and the national economy in ruins.

US officials framed the delisting as a direct fulfillment of a campaign and policy promise from President Donald Trump to support Syria’s political and economic transition. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained in an official statement that Monday’s actions will create new space for increased private investment in Syria, a critical ingredient to stabilizing the country’s fledgling new government and laying the groundwork for long-term economic recovery. At the same time, the Treasury Department stressed that the rollback of sanctions does not weaken Washington’s commitment to countering global terrorism, noting that it will continue to hold any bad actors operating within Syrian territory accountable for harmful activity.

The delisting process has been months in the making. US officials first publicly announced their intention to remove Syria from the state sponsor of terrorism list back in July, a move widely interpreted as a show of diplomatic support for Sharaa’s new administration. The move followed a high-profile bilateral meeting between Trump and Sharaa on the sidelines of the NATO summit held in Turkey, where the two leaders discussed the future of US-Syria relations.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that the delisting eliminates the last major barriers to private sector engagement in Syria, clearing a path for the country to rejoin the global economy and build lasting prosperity for the Syrian people. “This action promotes Syria’s economic recovery and reintegration into the global economy,” Rubio said.

Leadership in Damascus has welcomed the decision as a transformative turning point for a country still grappling with the aftermath of more than a decade of conflict. Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani called the US delisting a “historic milestone” that signals international recognition of the new Syrian government’s commitment to upholding international peace and security. According to Syria’s official state news agency SANA, Finance Minister Mohammed Barnieh described the move as a landmark achievement for Syrian diplomacy, saying it opens a long-awaited door to deeper integration into global economic and financial frameworks, attracts foreign direct investment and cutting-edge modern technology, and unlocks new sustainable development opportunities for the Syrian people. Central Bank of Syria Governor Safwat Raslan also lauded the decision, confirming that the institution is already working to build a modern, transparent, and reliable national financial system that can adapt to new global engagement and capitalize on the opportunities created by sanctions relief.