so when you start to break down the
trust it may make that very rich and
very powerful collaboration more of a
problem apparent Chinese buying at u.s.
medical institutions it's Tuesday
November 5th
this is VOA Asia I'm Jim Stevenson in
Washington find us on facebook at VOA
Asia also ahead a failing grade for
North Korea sanctions tough living in a
Pakistani city the latest on us
impeachment the Berlin Wall anniversary
and walking in vegan shoes it's all on
today's VOA Asia
[Music]
71 medical institutions including some
of the most prestigious medical schools
in the United States are now
investigating 180 cases involving
potential theft of intellectual
properties the New York Times on Monday
reported that almost all of the people
under investigation are of Chinese
descent
VOA Asia's IRA momen got in touch with
dr. Ross McKinney chief scientific
officer of the Association of American
Medical Colleges well it sounds like a
lot of people but when you actually then
think about the number of Chinese
researchers or researchers of Southeast
Asian descent in the United States at
our schools of medicine and who are
funded by the NIH there are about 6,000
funded investigators of Asian background
that the NIH funds so the 180 sounds
like a lot but in fact it's a pretty
small proportion of the overall
population of Chinese scientists
scientists of Asian descent is it
worrisome it is worrisome and what makes
it worry some is because the
collaboration between the US and
citizens from China who have come to
work in our laboratories who have come
to work with our universities who become
collaborators has been a really strong
and rich one and and so when you start
to break down the trust it may make that
very rich and very powerful
collaboration more of a problem and and
that's sad I mean we really don't want
to see that because of how important
these collaborations have been does this
threaten all of this does this threaten
this open exchange of medical
information between the US and China it
raises concerns because there are
certain ground rules you expect people
in science to follow you expect people
to respect that somebody who has an idea
will get to develop their own idea and
once it's developed enough you can
publish it how is all this discovered
what was discovered originally as best I
can tell at MD Anderson which is a
Cancer Center
and Texas and they had a case where
somebody was sending things to to China
PDFs of grant applications and then
started to pursue and discovered that
there was a program in China called a
thousand talents program that was
recruiting scientists and when a
scientist chose not to be recruited to
China was instead funding them to do
work in China while remaining on faculty
in the US and so that's where the
problem began and from what where it was
uncovered is the u.s. government
involved in these investigations the US
and government is at the core of these
investigations while institutions are
asked to do an evaluation the FBI is
engaged and the NIH is involved and is
aware of or are prompted most of those
180 investigations there are those as
you know who are warning that these
Chinese and Chinese American academics
are now feeling at risk including of
course those who are not part of this
situation and this that this a crackdown
will stop or stem the flow of
researchers from China to the United
States others are going as far as saying
but that it's racist how do you react to
that I think that it has had a chilling
effect and it is very sad because the
issue has not been with the Chinese
people the issue has been with the
Chinese government which was doing this
in a systematic way there are a very
high proportion of graduate students in
the u.s. in the biomedical sciences who
are Chinese by background or citizenship
a lot of our postdocs people who are
continuing to learn new techniques and
develop new tools after finishing their
PhD are also of Chinese national descent
and it's been a very rich collaboration
this unfortunately makes people
suspicious
and we'll make it less appealing to come
to the US and that's particularly sad
because of how beneficial this
relationship has been for decades dr.
ross mckinney chief scientific officer
of the Association of American Medical
Colleges he was speaking with VOA ages I
remember these are among some of the top
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we continue with VOA Asia
I'm Jim Stevenson in Washington a new
report finds sanctions imposed on North
Korea are failing to advance
denuclearization prospects on the Korean
Peninsula
while causing immense suffering to the
civilian population an international
multidisciplinary panel of independent
experts compiled the report the report
is the first comprehensive assessment of
the human impact of sanctions against
North Korea leash line has more for VOA
from Geneva the United Nations
strengthened economic sanctions against
North Korea in 2016 with the aim of
bringing Pyongyang to the nuclear
negotiating table with Washington
this tactic however has not worked the
talks remained deadlocked while targeted
sanctions against North Korea's elite
are ineffective authors of the reports
say evidence shows they are having a
devastating impact on the general
population especially women and children
they say sanctions are adversely
affecting humanitarian aid and economic
development in the country they cite you
and agencies that report 40 percent of
North Korea's population is going hungry
and in desperate need of assistance six
out of ten people do not have access to
safe drinking water and malnutrition
among children is increasing Christine
on is founder of women cross dmz a
global movement of women to end the
korean war
she says the sanctions are borrowing the
import of essential items including
medical equipment agricultural material
essential for food production and
components for water and sanitation
programs
she says authors of the report warned
the lack of these goods threaten the
lives of the most vulnerable people in
North Korea they assessed that nearly
4,000 people died in 2018 as a result of
the delays caused by the sanction
of materials and 1/8 coming into North
Korea as well as the funding shortfalls
last year UN agencies were able to raise
only 21% of the 111 million dollars they
needed for urgent humanitarian programs
leaving a funding gap of 87 million
dollars no progress has been made in
nuclear negotiations since US President
Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim
jong-un held a historic first
face-to-face meeting in Singapore last
year and signed a declaration promising
to transform their relations on tells
VOA the US could advance this goal by
partially lifting the sanctions that are
hurting the civilian population this is
something that the United States can do
it wouldn't do anything to cost anything
to US taxpayers and I think it would go
a long way to improving the basic
security of of North Korean people and
it could be a very concrete step towards
advancing the step-by-step approach that
ultimately will lead to denuclearization
and a peace agreement Trump and Kim met
a second time earlier this year in Hanoi
Vietnam those talks however ended with
no agreement on says it would be wise to
involve women in the u.s. North Korean
nuclear talks
she says research shows when women are
engaged in a peace process their
participation actually leads to a peace
agreement and one that is more likely to
be durable lisa ashleen for VOA news
geneva
[Music]
happening now in Asia US National
Security Advisor Robert O'Brien
denounced China's ongoing military
buildup in the South China Sea at a
meeting of Southeast Asian leaders in
Thailand China's Vice foreign minister
criticized what he called meddling by
powers outside the region in
negotiations to resolve the territorial
dispute stay up to date with VOA you're
listening to VOA Asia we're glad you're
with us today on VOA Asia the United
Nations General Assembly recently marked
world cities day this year's theme
focused on innovations and better life
for future generations part of that
involves ranking cities on their
livability via ways arash arabasadi
looks at why one of the world's most
populous cities Karachi Pakistan ranks
near the bottom Karachi is Pakistan's
financial and industrial nerve center
but experts say it suffers from chronic
underinvestment in city services but the
infrastructure that people commonly use
for transportation for access to
drinking water for the proper
functioning of a secret system for
disposal of solid waste those services
for obviously not attended and this
situation has continued on for quite a
sizeable period of time to be sure parts
of Karachi are undergoing upgrades but
the city's mayor says much of Karachi
infrastructure needs more upkeep than
the city alone can provide no doubts the
responsibility lies with government but
the federal government should give
special attention to a city with two
major ports imagine a city like Karachi
mishandles by provincial and federal
governments they went for short-term
solutions but we need a complete revamp
of the system once known as the city of
lights Karachi now holds a far more
dubious distinction it is near the
bottom of the Economist Intelligence
units annual ranking of cities which
accounts for things like infrastructure
health care and environmental conditions
arash arabasadi VOA news washington
coming up moves to remove the US
president you're listening to VOA Asia
VOA Asia is on Twitter follow us at VOA
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this news from VOA Asia Hong Kong police
said Monday that a 48 year old
knife-wielding man who slashed two
people and bit off part of the ear of a
local politician during weekend protests
has been arrested along with two men who
attacked him in return visit VOA Asia
Facebook each day four top stories and
great features that you can see and
share this is VOA Asia
as VOA Asia continues the US Congress
made history last week with a vote
approval rather formally approving a
formal impeachment inquiry of President
Donald Trump Trump has now become the
fourth u.s. president to become the
subject of an impeachment investigation
based on his alleged efforts to pressure
Ukraine to investigate political rival
Joe Biden VOA national correspondent Jim
Malone has more on what the
Congressional vote means and what to
expect next from Washington those in
favor please say aye those opposed say
no high-drama
and history as the Congress moved
forward on impeachment led by the
Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy
Pelosi this is something that is very
solemn that is something prayerful LOC
and many Democrats believe President
Trump abused his power by pressuring
Ukraine to investigate one of his
political rivals former Vice President
Joe Biden we take an oath to protect and
defend the Constitution and that's what
we cannot ignore and we will not ignore
when the president's behavior indicates
that that investigation that inquiry is
necessary House Republicans are unified
against impeachment and Republican
leader Kevin McCarthy says Democrats are
trying to undo Trump's victory in the
2016 election Democrats are trying to
impeach the president because they are
scared they cannot defeat him at the
ballot box
that's not my words that's the words of
my colleagues from the other side of the
aisle that has offered impeachment three
different times the president blasted
the impeachment vote on Twitter as a
witch-hunt and as long vowed to survive
any effort to remove him from office
I've had the Moller witch hunt the
Russia witch hunt
I have witch hunts every week I say
what's the witch hunt this week they
can't beat us at the ballot box they
cannot beat us at the ballot box so they
want to try and beat us the
old-fashioned way which is not very nice
they are nasty
the resolution this latest house vote is
about the process of impeachment going
forward says Julie pace this is about
the rules that will govern what happens
next in terms of public testimony in
terms of what the public does learn
about things that happen behind closed
doors but the vote launched an important
new chapter in the impeachment inquiry
says analyst John hoodak part of the
reason for doing this is to transition
the process to the next stage which will
be a more public stage but it will also
hold Republicans feet to the fire to
disallow them from making process
arguments against the inquiry it's a
process that could drag on for some time
says John Fortier in the House of
Representatives probably gonna take a
couple of months we're really at the
beginning of that period today if
there's a Senate trial and the Senate
majority leader said there will be if
there's impeachment that's likely to
take another month or two as well so
this this could go on for quite a while
into next year a house vote to impeach
the president would be the equivalent of
an indictment or accusation of
wrongdoing that would lead to a Senate
trial where senators would decide
whether to remove him from office public
hearings on the impeachment inquiry are
expected to begin later this month Jim
Malone VOA news Washington this news
break from VOA Asia the second China
International import Expo officially
opens today in Shanghai the expo will
host more than 60 countries and three
international organizations at the
national exhibition and Convention
Center you can see this story and more
online at VOA sixty and find all the big
stories throughout the day on VOA Asia
Facebook this is via way Asia
now on VOA Asia on November 9th it will
be 30 years since the fall of the Berlin
Wall
which brought to an end the divide
between the communist East and
Democratic West the fall of the wall
symbolized the collapse of communism in
Eastern Europe that was imposed by the
venn Soviet Union after World War two it
also paved the way for the eventual
reunification of Germany so that today
what was once East Germany is now part
of Western Europe but right-wing parties
are gaining strength and former East
Germany threatening the country's
stability as Michael Scott oral reports
from Berlin new films from Berlin show
yet more evidence of the colossal damage
done Berlin was a broken City when the
war ended in 1945 and then in 1961 it
was divided by the Berlin Wall built to
keep East Germans from fleeing to the
west fast-forward to today the Berlin
Wall is largely gone the parts that do
remain serve as an outdoor museum
millions visit every year in the years
since the Wall fell
East Berlin has caught out to the west
these glittering new apartments were
built on what was East Berlin this
Berlin Street is known as little
Damascus Syrians and others fleeing from
war have started new businesses and
restaurants here entrepreneurs from
around the world have also come pumping
new life into the city American tour
operator Jeremy Mintzberg is one of them
and all of a sudden tourists are coming
here and they realize this is a really
cool place to be and they start telling
everybody and with Briggs that happening
a lot of people don't know where they're
going to be for with that and many
businesses have resided relocate here in
Berlin but graffiti on the walls reflect
the frustration by some Berliners that
the new arrivals have led to
skyrocketing rents everything is
becoming unaffordable it's the San
Francisco ization of Berlin so the
average Berliner is having a very very
difficult time keeping up with what all
these people with foreign salaries it is
creating a social problem here in Berlin
you still Berlin's economy is growing
but the recipes Germany hasn't fared as
well though there are a handful of
successful cities in the East
former GDR lost its industry when the
Wall fell abandoned factories like this
were common millions lost their jobs or
moved away
around 80% of the people lost a job
after the wealth wall came down after
the reunification many people were
desperate to find something new to find
work and so many people left
according to Eric Mon there's a strong
connection between the rise of
right-wing extremism and the collapse of
the East German economy after German
reunification the AFD the right-wing
party here in germany has actually quite
targeted eastern state they have been
like immensely umm.yeah responsible over
their Green Party official Jana bricks
worries about the rise of right-wing
extremism in her country for good
democracy for working democracy we need
a big amount of people who are raised in
a democratic way who think in a
democratic way and I'm afraid that we
will lose that of course I'm very very
worried about it I still think it's not
lost and there's still hope and we have
to work on it but we can't act like
everything is fine thirty years after
the fall of the Berlin Wall young people
like bricks are doing their best to
preserve German democracy but as a
recent right-wing terrorist attack
against the synagogue in the former East
Germany demonstrated anti-semitism and
Islamophobia remained deeply entrenched
threats Michels Kotaro for VOA news
Berlin for those people who have removed
all animal products out of their diet
making sure they're not wearing anything
made from an animal like fur shoes seems
like a natural progression in Los
Angeles vegan fashion is a thing and
retailers are doing their best to meet
demand for cruelty free clothing and
footwear
when designer in California dedicated
all her time and energy to making
sneakers that are made from recycled
materials and are fully recyclable
themselves
Angela Beck's Aryan has the story
narrated by anna rice cynthia arcus
confesses that it was her son inspire
and pushed her to create her own
business he was making some money so
many questions and one of them was like
it why we're wasting resources why we
are wasting so much water so because of
his questions I was like wow yes and how
we could do things different archives
decided she needed to start with herself
that's how the brand arcus Bear was born
sneakers made of recycled material the
eco-friendly sneakers are though
available in many colors have never been
dyed they were just made from recycled
material of similar color and dyeing
colors you know use water you are using
chemicals so I was picking and balancing
all of this you know we decided to do
sustainable they cares made of recycled
rubber and recycled cotton and plastic
bottles inside is very comfortable it
has coconut fiber
odhh footwear disfigured and discolored
turns into designer shoes those are
pieces of rubber
those are pieces of other souls that it
should be discarded and they we decide
to realize and the production artisan
sneakers shown that the vegan Fashion
Week with took place in Los Angeles
early in October together with other
designers artists wants to prove that
eco-friendly doesn't mean ugly a lot of
vegan clothing and shoe items are sold
for hefty prices and there are a whole
variety of styles to choose from I was a
stylist to celebrities right so I was
making up then and outfits for people
and I was buying up to like 10 to
$15,000 worth of
amazing luxury shoes a month and I
wanted to find a way to make a version
that was non leather and not using any
animal cruelty but also having that same
amazing field fit and fashion sense and
so I went out to do it myself
Rebecca mink has been making designer
vegan shoes for Hollywood celebrities
for over 20 years
apples pineapples mushrooms the
materials she uses will astonish any
clothing guru for now vegan shoes seem
to be a u.s. thing European countries
still like their leather so most even
designers are exclusive to the US where
they know they'll find customers
Frankie univocal sat down and lost Lane
choice and a rice really News you've
been listening to VOA Asia you'll find
us on iTunes and SoundCloud you'll find
us on Facebook at VOA Asia as well as
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Burmese
so for everyone who's listening in
Myanmar on VOA Burmese we thank you for
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don't forget look us up on Twitter and
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we'd like to thank our director traci
carter our engineer Keith combs our
managing editor Diane Gow our VOA Asia
team I remember Keefe Lane and our
interns young and afro I'm Jim Stevenson
we're in Washington we hope you have a
great day ahead
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