Four New Zealand legislators who visited Taiwan in May have been banned from visiting China. The foreign ministries of New Zealand, Australia and Taiwan all expressed concern about the ban
coercion
Democratic countries need to push back against the Chinese party-state's efforts to exclude Taiwan from participating in international events, writes Nathan Attrill
"Beijing wants governments and institutions to see engagement with Taiwan as a source of trouble to avoid. Democracies should do the opposite. They should make routine engagement with Taiwan normal, more resilient and harder for Beijing to disrupt."
https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/beijing-is-testing-who-will-stand-by-taiwan/
Edited 63d ago
Over 15 years ago I visited Saint John, NB to get married to a man from there. At our wedding reception, he persuaded me to go to a private area with his criminal friends. They held me there for hours while they threatened & terrified me, insulted me, then pretended to befriend me.
They told me they wanted me to go to a secret location 'in the woods' & I could never leave.
1)
#SexualExploitation #Sextrafficking #Abduction #Coercion #SaintJohnNB #SaintJohn #NewBrunswick #Canada #MeToo
Edited 52d ago
Rated Backrooms 7/10
Say what you will about atmospheric horror but this film has a perspective on trauma (and healing) and the ways the mind is a maze of infinitely inexact replicas of The Real. I appreciated the directing, the sound editing and mixing, and the performances. I thought the plot was a bit thin and unfocused at times but I also had to dip out of the theater for snacks for a bit, so I may have missed some crucial details. What I did see does at least make me want to give it another try to put together all the pieces in a coherent way, which is saying something since so many offerings in media these days--movies, but also books and video games--are made for the lowest common denominator consumer. Very eager to see what this director does next.
Edited 49d ago