Passage 1

The 2020 China–India skirmishes are part of an ongoing military standoff between China and

India. Since 5 May 2020, Chinese and Indian troops have engaged in aggressive melee, face-offs
and skirmishes at locations along the Sino-Indian border, including near the disputed Pangong
Lake in Ladakh and the Tibet Autonomous Region, and near the border between Sikkim and the
Tibet Autonomous Region. Additional clashes also took place at locations in eastern Ladakh
along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). In late May, Chinese forces objected to Indian road
construction in the Galwan River valley. According to Indian sources, melee fighting on 15/16
June 2020 resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers (including an officer) and casualties of 43
Chinese soldiers (including death of an officer). Media reports stated that soldiers were taken
captive on both sides and released in the coming few days. On the Indian side ten soldiers were
reported to have been taken captive while the Chinese numbers remain unconfirmed. Later
Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Indian Army denied any detention of Indian personal. It was
only on 25 July that reports of disengagement at Galwan, Hot Springs and Gogra emerged. As of
30 July, disengagement remained incomplete at Pangong Tso and at PP 17A Gogra while
"complete disengagement and de-escalation" between India and China was remaining. On 30
July the Chinese Ambassador to India said that China favours not clarifying the LAC. A day
later reports emerged that the Indian Army will continue enhanced deployment of troops even
through winter if the disengagement process was not complete.

1. Which among the regions are not involved in the conflict between China and India?

a. Galwan Ghati

b. Pangong Lake

c. Damchok lake

d. Siachen

2. What is the reason due to which conflict arose between India and China?

a. Building up of 230 km of road between Depsang region and Galwan Ghati

b. Building up of 255 km of road between Depsang region and Galwan Ghati

c. Building up of 230 km of road between Damchok region and Galwan Ghati

 d. Building up of 255 km of road between Damchok region and Galwan Ghati

3. Which organization is responsible for building roads in the border regions?

a. Border Roads Organisation

b. Indo-China Border Protection Organisation

c. Border Protection Traffic Control Organisation

d. None of the above

4. Which of the following Indian state does not share a border with China?

a. Sikkim

b. Assam

c. Himanchal Pradesh

d. Uttarakhand

5. What is the name of the line between India and China border?

a. Redcliff Line

b. Durand Line

c. Mcmohan Line

d. Silent Line

Passage 2

The decision by China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) to create new national security
legislation for Hong Kong has seen criticism erupt in parts of the Hong Kong community and
internationally. The US has raised the stakes in response, saying it will no longer treat Hong
Kong as ‘autonomous’. Many critics have attacked the process set out by Beijing, arguing that
any national security legislation should be considered by Hong Kong’s legislature. That was
indeed the original intention when the Basic Law was promulgated in 1990 but, since an aborted
attempt to introduce legislation in 2003 and consistent lobbying against reviving it, Beijing
seems to have concluded an alternative approach is needed. The decision is not itself a law, but it
authorizes the NPC Standing Committee to draft legislation which will then be added to Annex
III of the Basic Law - Hong Kong’s mini-constitution - under a provision in Article 18 of the
Basic Law. This will then be promulgated in Hong Kong by the chief executive, a rare example
of ‘executive order’. This is likely to happen quickly, which makes it difficult to address the
substantive arguments that the legislation will undermine basic rights and freedoms. Exactly how
it will be used in practice remains to be seen. But while international human rights covenants do
allow in principle for national security legislation, this law is likely to be broader in scope than
the draft withdrawn in 2003, when careful efforts were made to incorporate rights protection as
much as possible.

1. When was Hong Kong handed over to China?

a. 1966

b. 1977

c. 1988

d. 1999

2. What is true about the Basic Law?

a. It is the Constitution of Hong Kong

b. It is the mini Constitution of Hong Kong

c. It is the law which empowers Hong Kong to make their own laws

d. It is a delegated legislation of China

3. What is the reason behind the criticism of this legislation?

a. The draft law has been criticised by democratic parties in Hong Kong as it undermines the
“one country, two systems” model.

b. Hong Kong’s freedoms will be compromised as the law could effectively bring the city under
full control of mainland China.

c. The new law would ban seditious activities that target mainland Chinese rule, as well
as punish external interference in Hong Kong affairs. This will lead to the revival of the protests.
d. All of the above

4. The law criminalises any act of:

a. secession - breaking away from the country

b. subversion - undermining the power or authority of the central government
c. terrorism - using violence or intimidation against people
d. All of the above

5 . What is the capital of China?

a. Hong Kong
b. Beijing
c. Wuhan
d. Macau

Passage 3

The Senkaku Islands dispute, or Diaoyu Islands dispute, concerns a territorial dispute over a
group of uninhabited islands known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan, the Diaoyu Islands in
the People's Republic of China (PRC), and Tiaoyutai Islands in the Republic of China (ROC
or Taiwan). Aside from a 1945 to 1972 period of administration by the United States as part
of the Ryukyu Islands, the archipelago has been controlled by Japan since 1895. According
to Lee Seokwoo, the People's Republic of China (PRC) started taking up the question of
sovereignty over the islands in the latter half of 1970 when evidence relating to the existence
of oil reserves surfaced. Taiwan (the Republic of China; ROC) also claims the islands. The
territory is close to key shipping lanes and rich fishing grounds, and there may be oil reserves
in the area. Japan argues that it surveyed the islands in the late 19th century and found them
to be terra nullius (Latin: land belonging to no one); subsequently, China acquiesced to
Japanese sovereignty until the 1970s. The PRC and the ROC argue that documentary
evidence prior to the First Sino-Japanese War indicates Chinese possession and that the
territory is accordingly a Japanese seizure that should be returned as the rest of Imperial
Japan's conquests were returned in 1945.The islands are included within the Treaty of Mutual
Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan, meaning that a defense of the
islands by Japan would require the United States to come to Japan's aid. In September 2012,
the Japanese government purchased three of the disputed islands from their private owner,
prompting large-scale protests in China. As of early February 2013, the situation has been
regarded as "the most serious for Sino-Japanese relations in the post-war period in terms of
the risk of militarised conflict." On 23 November 2013, the PRC set up the "East China Sea
Air Defense Identification Zone" which includes the Senkaku Islands, and announced that it
would require all aircraft entering the zone to file a flight plan and submit radio
frequency or transponder information.

1. Senkaku island belongs to which country?

a. China

b. Japan

c. Taiwan

d. United States of America

2. What’s the issue?

a. Japan has territorial sovereignty over the island

b. The uninhabited islands are at the centre of a festering row between Tokyo and
Beijing.

c. Taiwan says the islands are part of its territory, and also protested the move of Japan

d. All of the above

3. What is China’s claim?

a. China says that the islands have been part of its territory since ancient times, serving
as important fishing grounds administered by the province of Taiwan.

b. Taiwan was ceded to Japan in the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895, after the Sino-
Japanese war.

c. When Taiwan was returned in the Treaty of San Francisco, China says the islands
should have been returned too.
 d. All of the above

4. What is the name of Island known by China?

a. the Diaoyus

b. Tonoshiro

c. Tonoshiro Senkaku

d. Senkaku

5. Taiwan was ceded to Japan in the Treaty of Shimonoseki in

a. 1895

b. 1896

c. 1897

d. 1898

Answers

Passage 1

1. D
2. B
3. A
4. B
5. C

Passage 2

1. B
2. B
3. D
4. D
 5. B

Passage 3

1. B
2. D
3. D
4. A
5. A