US Urges Japan and South Korea to Speak Out on China

Proportion of Children Who Have Mental Health Emergencies Increasing Amid Pandemic

The proportion of children seeking emergency visits for mental health has increased massively amid the pandemic, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Nov. 13. Data from the CDC’s National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP) was compared to that of the previous year and it was found that while the number of visits to the emergency department for both health (such as asthma, sprains, and injuries) and mental health have decreased, the proportion of mental health-related emergency visits had increased substantially. Emergency Departments (ED) are commonly the first point of care for children’s mental health emergencies. This especially holds true when there are no other options or services accessible. The data derives from hospitals from 47 different states in the United States, representative of 73…

WASHINGTON鈥擳he United States on Friday urged Japan and South Korea to speak out against China’s treatment of minority Muslims and its actions toward Hong Kong and Taiwan, despite their trading relationships with Beijing.

The unusually blunt comments directed at close U.S. allies came from Marc Knapper, deputy assistant secretary for Korea and Japan, as Tokyo and Seoul were set to join 13 other Asia Pacific economies this weekend in signing a China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which could become the world’s largest free trade agreement.

Knapper also stressed the importance of South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Southeast Asian countries working with the United States and each other to ensure their citizens’ data was protected from China.

Speaking from Seoul at an online event hosted by the Brookings Institution think tank, Knapper said Washington understood Japan and South Korea had “very complex and nuanced relationships” with China.

“Regardless of the fact that there are very important trading relationships and others … we all should be able to stand up and speak out when we see bad behavior from China.”

Knapper said Washington was not asking Japan and Korea to “cut off or contain” China, but added: “We hope and expect that Korea and Japan and others will stand up and speak out on behalf of these things.

“It’s the responsibility of countries like the United States, countries like South Korea, countries like Japan, to accept the responsibility of speaking out on behalf of democracy, speaking out on behalf of freedom, because if we don’t, who will?”

A U.S.-China trade war and U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” retreat from predecessor Barack Obama’s “pivot” toward Asia have given impetus to complete the RCEP, which is widely seen as Beijing’s chance to set a regional trade agenda.

By David Brunnstrom

Focus News: US Urges Japan and South Korea to Speak Out on China

Newsom Says He Shouldn’t Have Attended Gathering While Urging Californians to Stay Home

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday said he should not have joined other families for a dinner while urging people to stay home amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “While our family followed the restaurant’s health protocols and took safety precautions, we should have modeled better behavior and not joined the dinner,” the Democrat said in a statement released by his office. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Newsom attended a dinner on Nov. 6 at the French Laundry that included at least 12 people, among them his wife. California health guidelines currently bar people from participating in gatherings of more than three different households. A Newsom spokesman initially defended the dinner, saying it was outdoors. The office later issued the governor’s statement. Previous guidelines required all gatherings to be held outside.…