Ashley Cornell, email: [email protected]

An “absurd and almost hysterical” reaction: the head of Chinese diplomacy, Wang Yi, raised the tone of the dispute over the launch of the spy balloon in the skies over the United States. Xi Jinping’s envoy to the Munich Security Conference repeated Beijing’s version: “It was an unmanned civilian airship that was hijacked by westerly winds over American airspace.” The Pentagon, on the other hand, has no doubts: it got the wreckage from the shallow waters off the coast recovered by South Carolina, explaining that the equipment on board was used for espionage.

According to Wang Yi, shooting down the plane was “a gesture of weakness, not strength” by the White House. A nod to America’s domestic political debate, the US press has widely reported that President Joe Biden hesitated for days before giving the order to open fire, and was presumably pushed by the Republican opposition, which called for the hardest line with the Chinese.

The Pentagon twists the accusation by saying that the spy operation, conducted on the eve of Secretary Antony Blinken’s planned trip to Beijing, has exposed a risky disconnect between politics and military operations in Beijing: “We believe that Xi is only known by his generals after we spotted their balloon,” Secretary of Defense Colin Kahl told the New York Times. The statement can also be read as a signal to facilitate the resumption of diplomatic contacts.

The foreign representative of the Chinese Politburo has arrived in Munich after stops in Paris and Rome. Its mission is primarily aimed at not losing economic relations with the European Union, which has a trade value of around 700 billion euros per year (the first partner by far is Germany).

To show Beijing’s goodwill, Wang announced in Rome Minister Antonio Tajani an upcoming “peace speech” that Xi Jinping would deliver until February 24, the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Beijing does not call it an invasion and has never condemned it. Xi has also never reneged on the promise of “borderless cooperation” made to Vladimir Putin on February 4, 2022, when Russian tanks were already massed on the Ukrainian border (US intelligence has revealed that it sent the information to the Chinese embassy passed on in Washington in the hope that Xi would dissuade his friend Putin to the utmost; Beijing denied the secret contact).

Yesterday, Wang said China is preparing a proposal for a peaceful political solution. Dialogue is necessary, he reiterated: “We must adhere to the principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty…we oppose any attack on civilian nuclear sites.” They are not new words. And the Beijing envoy also reiterated that “the legitimate security concerns of all parties must be ensured”: and the party he is referring to is always Russia. Wang turned to the Europeans: “Take your time and think about how the crisis can be solved, because there are some forces who want neither a successful negotiation nor an early end to the war”. We’ll have to wait until the 24th to find out if Xi really wants to get involved. “Beijing’s position remains very ambiguous,” noted EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis. “They continue to look for ways to circumvent sanctions against Russia.”

In Munich, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba praised a long-awaited Chinese peace initiative: “We believe it can play an important role, we want China to have it.” Wang Yi will continue his tour in Moscow.

The Civil Defense, one of the agencies most involved in disasters, has issued the first national level preventive alert, the green, this Saturday afternoon, as they have been reported due to the increase in winds hitting the country this week, following several wildfires that could increase according to experts.

The latest weather reports suggest winds of between 40 and 50 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 70 kilometers per hour could occur, with the possibility of falling trees and billboards and an increase in hard-to-fight fires.

There are strong gusts of wind in mountainous areas and in this capital city, while the authorities warn the population to avoid activities and actions that could trigger new accidents.

Likewise, the authorities alerted sea and air navigation, artisanal fisheries and sport fisheries to assess atmospheric and oceanographic conditions before carrying out their activities.

jha/lb

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WASHINGTON Former US President Jimmy Carter (19771981), 98, is receiving palliative care at his home where he will spend the rest of his life, the foundation that bears his name said Saturday.

“After a series of brief hospitalizations, former US President Jimmy Carter today decided to spend the rest of his time at home with his family and to seek hospice care instead of further medical procedures,” the Carter Center said on Twitter.

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Jason Carter, the couple’s grandson, who now chairs the Carter Center’s board of directors, said in a tweet Saturday that he “saw both of my grandparents yesterday (the day before).” “They are at peace and as always their home is filled with love.”

He was the 39th President of the United States. Born on October 1, 1924 in Plains, Georgia, the former Navy lieutenant was a state senator and governor. His presidency is known for the Camp David Accords, the Iran hostage crisis, and the creation of the Ministries of Energy and Education. He resigned after being defeated by Ronald Regan in the 1980 election.

The former president, who became the oldest surviving US president after the death of George Bush in December 2018 at the age of 94, has had numerous health problems in recent years, including a melanoma that spread to the liver and brain.

After losing to Regan, he and his wife founded the Carter Center in 1982. Since then, the former president has defended democracy, public health and human rights around the world.

Carter was the underdog who won the 1976 election

Young Carter, a moderate Democrat, rose quickly from the local school board to the state senate and then to the governorship of Georgia. As an outsider, he began weaving his candidacy for the White House. His campaign gained strength on his promise not to deceive the American people after the disastrous administration of Richard Nixon, who resigned to avoid impeachment in 1974, and the US defeat in Vietnam.

“If I lie to you, if I make a misleading statement, don’t vote for me. I didn’t deserve to be your president,” Carter said many times during his campaign, in which he defeated Republican Gerald Ford. | AFP and AP