The Wall Street Journal reports: "Australia will redevelop a South Pacific naval base, used by the U.S. as a World War II launchpad, at a time when China's regional presence is becoming more visible. Australia and Papua New Guinea agreed Thursday to upgrade the Lombrum Naval Base on Manus Island, to Australia's north. It is a move likely to give U.S. and Australian forces greater access to a port in the South Pacific and to the southern approaches to the disputed waters of the South China Sea. 'I want to strengthen our engagement with the Pacific for the Pacific's sake, because this is our home,' Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. His comments were made in a speech coinciding with a visit to the country by one of America's top naval officers, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson, to discuss strategic rivalry in the region. 'At a time of change, uncertainty and strategic competition, Australia will need to act with even greater purpose and conviction,' Mr. Morrison said. The Manus base, built by U.S. forces in 1944, was used as launchpad to retake the Pacific from Japanese forces and support the American campaign to liberate the Philippines." 

TIME reports: "Internet freedom around the world declined this past year, thanks in part to China's efforts to export its digital surveillance standards, according to a new report from watchdog Freedom House. The group's 2018 Freedom on the Net report found that overall internet freedoms declined for the eighth consecutive year as governments ramped up collection of user data and wielded repressive 'fake news' laws to silence dissent. Freedom House found 26 of the 65 countries covered in the annual report demonstrated diminishing web freedoms, including the U.S. 'Democracies are struggling in the digital age, while China is exporting its model of censorship and surveillance to control information both inside and outside its borders,' said Freedom House president Michael J. Abramowitz. The report cited how social media hate speech, rumors and propaganda helped fuel deadly violence this past year in Myanmar, India and Sri Lanka. But Freedom House concluded that China was 'once again the worst abuser of internet freedom.' In addition to its own sophisticated internet censorship apparatus, known as the 'Great Firewall,' China has begun training other countries on how to impose its model. It has also supplied cutting-edge hardware, including facial recognition and advanced data tools, that will help repressive regimes control their citizens' lives."

The New York Times reports: "The young applicant is described as confident and courageous. His résumé, at 15 pages, is glittering, complete with performance reviews ('full of energy'), a map of his travels (trips to Tokyo and Bali) and a list of books he has read this year (408 in total). But the applicant is not a seasoned job seeker. He is a 5-year-old boy from southern China applying for a spot in first grade at a Shanghai private school. 'I hope I can outperform my parents,' the boy is quoted as saying, between photos showing him playing the piano, swimming and driving a toy car. The résumé, which was leaked and shared widely online this week, has provoked a mix of fascination, indignation and debate about whether children in China's test-crazed education system are being raised as soulless strivers. Some called for the parents of the boy to be arrested. Others wondered whether today's children would know true happiness, given the intense pressure to perform well and land good jobs. 'Only 5 years old?' one user wrote on Weibo, a Twitter-like site. 'So scary.' Still, some defended the parents, saying they were trying to promote their child's best interests in a flawed system. By Thursday evening, tens of thousands of people had weighed in, and a hashtag about the boy had been viewed more than 38 million times."