Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Mutual praise, buzzwords plus a few walkouts: Xi and Putin meet in Beijing

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Vladimir Putin lauded the success of ‘our Chinese friends’ at global forum, while Xi Jinping spoke out against international sanctions and ‘decoupling’

Xi Jinping met his internationally isolated Russian counterpart in Beijing on Wednesday against the backdrop of China’s biggest diplomatic event of the year, underlining the close relationship between two leaders amid the war in Ukraine.

The Chinese president, addressing delegates at the belt and road initiative (BRI) forum, spoke out against international sanctions during his opening speech.

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US accuses China of pattern of ‘dangerous’ air force manoeuvres against military planes

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Pentagon cites more than 180 incidents of aggression against US aircraft over the East and South China seas

The US has accused China of orchestrating a “concerted” campaign of dangerous and provocative air force manoeuvres against US military planes in international airspace, warning it could spark an inadvertent conflict between them.

The Pentagon said aggressive tactics by Chinese aircraft had threatened US planes flying over the East and South China Sea regions, tallying more than 180 such incidents since autumn 2021.

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X, formerly Twitter, rolls out US$1 annual fee for new users in New Zealand and the Philippines

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Platform owned by Elon Musk says subscription trial is aimed at combating bots on the service

X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has begun rolling out a US$1 annual charge to new users in New Zealand and the Philippines in a move the service owned by Elon Musk says is aimed at combating bots.

Fortune first reported the subscription plan, which costs US$1 a year for access to key functions including tweeting, replying, retweeting and liking. After Fortune’s report, X revealed the details.

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Xi Jinping welcomes ‘dear friend’ Vladimir Putin to Beijing

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Russian president due to hold in-depth talks with Chinese leader on sidelines of trade forum

The Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, has welcomed his “dear friend” Vladimir Putin to Beijing, kicking off a multilateral summit overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas war.

Beijing this week hosts representatives of 130 countries for a forum on Xi’s vast trade and infrastructure project, the belt and road initiative (BRI).

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Malaysia pulls out of Frankfurt book fair, blaming organisation’s pro-Israel stance

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Representatives of the south-east Asian country stated that the event, the world’s largest, has allied itself with Israel in its war with Hamas, after an award due to be presented to a Palestinian writer was cancelled

Malaysia’s education ministry has pulled out of the Frankfurt book fair, citing the organisation’s pro-Israel stance in the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel.

In a statement published on Monday, the Malaysian ministry said that it “will not compromise with Israel’s violence in Palestine, which clearly violates international laws and human rights”. This came after an awards ceremony celebrating Palestinian author Adania Shibli that was due to be held at the world’s largest book fair was called off.

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‘Like being buried alive’: Australian journalist Cheng Lei on life in a Chinese prison

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Reporter reveals she was arrested for breaking a news embargo, and talks about how she survived months in solitary confinement

Australian journalist Cheng Lei spent almost three years in China’s prison system for breaking an embargo by a few minutes, she has revealed in her first interview after returning home to Melbourne last week.

Cheng, 48, was working as a business reporter for China’s state-run English-language TV station CGTN when she was arrested on 13 August 2020.

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Joko Widodo’s son can run for Indonesian vice-president after controversial court ruling

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Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 36, does not meet age requirement of 40 but constitutional court – headed by president’s brother-in-law – makes exception

An Indonesian court has made a controversial exception allowing the eldest son of outgoing President Joko Widodo to run for vice-president in the 2024 election.

In a decision that outraged critics of the president, the constitutional court ruled that candidates under the required age of 40 can seek the presidency or vice-presidency in the 14 February ballot provided they have previously held elected regional office.

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Canada accuses China fighter jets of ‘reckless’ interception of military plane

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Defence minister says Chinese jet came within five meters of Canadian surveillance plane on UN operation over international waters

Canada’s defence minister has accused China fighter jets of carrying out a “dangerous and reckless” interception of a Canadian military plane over international waters.

Bill Blair spoke after Canada’s Global News said a Chinese jet had come within five meters (16ft) of a Canadian surveillance plane taking part in a UN operation to enforce sanctions against North Korea.

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China woos global south and embraces Putin at belt and road Beijing summit

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Development drive’s forum will focus on poorer countries as Xi’s relations with the west become increasingly frosty

World leaders are gathering in Beijing for China’s belt and road initiative (BRI) forum, the third such event since the trademark global development drive was launched by President Xi Jinping 10 years ago.

The BRI was originally envisioned as a vast physical and digital infrastructure project to connect China with central Asia, south-east Asia, Europe and the rest of the world. It later broadened into a mammoth infrastructure financing vehicle for Chinese lenders to support projects in nearly every corner of the world, particularly in the global south. With that support came China’s mounting influence on the world stage, even as western countries became increasingly sceptical of the BRI.

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China and Russia harden positions on Gaza as war stirs geopolitical tensions

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Conflict highlights growing gulf with west, as other big developing powers face difficult diplomatic choices

China and Russia have hardened their positions towards the conflict in Gaza in recent days, as the war between Israel and Hamas aggravates existing geopolitical tensions and underscores the growing gulf between the cold war allies and western powers such as the US, UK and France.

The Chinese foreign minister said over the weekend that Israel’s bombing campaign had gone “beyond the scope of self-defence” and that it “should stop collective punishment of the people of Gaza”.

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Former Bank of China boss arrested on corruption charges

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Liu Liange charged with accepting bribes and illegally granting loans amid country’s anti-corruption drive

China has arrested the former head of one of the country’s largest commercial banks on charges of accepting bribes and illegally granting loans, amid a two-year anti-corruption drive targeting the financial sector.

China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), which is investigating corruption within the ruling Communist party, said on Monday that Liu Liange had been arrested, after announcing the start of the investigation in March.

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Weighty issue: Japan Airlines lays on extra plane after sumo wrestlers make aircraft too heavy to fly

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Concerns over fuel capacity with wrestlers onboard led to national carrier taking the ‘unusual step’ of transferring sumo rikishi to another flight

Japan’s flagship carrier has been forced to lay on an extra flight at short notice after concluding that two of its planes were at risk of exceeding their weight limits. The culprit was not excess baggage, however, but a passenger list that included some of the country’s heaviest men.

Japan Airlines took the “very unusual” step of transferring a number of sumo wrestlers to a hastily arranged special flight last week over concerns that the two aircraft they had originally been due to fly would be unable to carry sufficient fuel due to weight restrictions.

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New Zealand in political limbo as National considers shape of coalition

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Centre-right party ousted Labour in election but outstanding votes will determine if National needs populist party NZ First to govern

New Zealand could be stuck in political limbo for weeks as the newly elected National party waits to see if it can govern solely with its preferred coalition partner, Act, or whether the final vote tally will force it to work with populist party New Zealand First.

Saturday night’s election brutally ousted the governing Labour party, with preliminary results giving the centre-right National party 50 seats, and its traditional coalition party Act, 11 - just enough to reach the 61 seats needed to govern.

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New Zealand Labour shed votes to the right but also the left – the price of a progressive policy bonfire

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The party’s supporters feel like it got a kicking from everyone. After a dire result, analysts pointed to its inability to meet its lofty aspirations

It was an assessment with a distinctly New Zealand flavour. “At the end of the day, there’s one unavoidable reality,” said Chris Hipkins, the defeated Labour prime minister, speaking to reporters after he conceded the country’s election on Saturday. “We lost because not enough people voted for us.”

But that was only part of it. Hipkins’ ruling, centre-left Labour party had crashed from the historic highs of its 2020 election result, in which it won 50% of the vote, to a dismal 27% on Saturday, nearly halving its seats in parliament. However, the punishing loss was not only a clear defeat by the right-leaning parties that will form the next government – the size and shape of which will be determined when a final vote tally is announced on 3 November; the blows also came from Labour’s left.

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Some of Jacinda Ardern’s legacy in New Zealand is safe. A lot of it isn’t | Henry Cooke

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Housing, workplace and some benefit reforms on the chopping block as centre-right National-led coalition forms government

The most common and cutting critique of Jacinda Ardern’s Labour government was that it couldn’t get anything done.

Transport was the best cudgel for this attack. Ardern came to power promising a light rail line in Auckland that six years later nobody has started to build. Tens of millions were spent on planning a bridge across the city’s harbour that ended up scrapped.

Henry Cooke is a freelance journalist covering New Zealand politics

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Tens of thousands rally around the world in support of Israel and Palestinians

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Jewish and Palestinian communities take to the streets as police increase presence around schools, synagogues and mosques

Tens of thousands of protesters rallied across the Middle East and in parts of Asia, Europe and the United States in support of Palestinians and condemnation of Israel as it intensified its strikes on Gaza in retaliation for Hamas attacks a week ago.

Elsewhere, Jewish communities in the US, France and other countries held rallies on Friday in solidarity with Israel after the Hamas attack from Gaza, the deadliest killing spree against Israeli civilians in the country’s 75-year history.

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Ferdinand Marcos Jr drops Philippines holiday marking toppling of father

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Day commemorating 1986 People Power Revolution omitted from official list of holidays for 2024

The Philippine president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, has dropped a public holiday marking the anniversary of a revolution that toppled his dictator father, further fuelling concerns his family is seeking to “whitewash” history.

Ferdinand Marcos Sr ruled the Philippines for more than two decades until he was ousted by the peaceful People Power Revolution of February 1986, when hundreds of thousands took to the streets. The Marcos family was forced to flee the country, and sought exile in Hawaii.

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Japan asks court to strip Unification church of religious status

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Move comes after assassination of former PM Shinzo Abe and growing criticism of fundraising activities

Japan’s government has asked a court to strip the Unification church of its status, amid growing criticism of the group’s fundraising activities after the assassination last year of the former prime minister Shinzo Abe.

If the Tokyo district court accepts the request, the church – whose members are colloquially known as Moonies – will be stripped of its status as a religious corporation and lose exemptions from corporate and property taxes, as well as a tax on income from monetary offerings.

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New Zealand election 2023: Labour and National make last-ditch pleas to voters on eve of poll

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Chris Hipkins and Christopher Luxon clash in heated final debate ahead of 14 October vote as left-leaning government trails right bloc in polls

The leaders of New Zealand’s two major political parties have made a last ditch effort to sway votes in their favour on the final day of campaigning before the country’s general election.

The leaders clashed in their most heated debate yet – the last of the campaign, which aired on TVNZ on Thursday night. In his final message, Labour’s Chris Hipkins warned the public that a vote for the opposition would bake in poverty and see action on climate change go backwards.

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‘I have to wear two hats’: Thailand’s breakdancing team confronts hair loss at the Asian Games

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After breakdancing debuted at the games in China, members of the Thai national team say they needed support for hair treatment

A member of Thailand’s national breakdancing team has spoken about one of the lesser known challenges of the sport – hair loss.

At the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, where breaking – known in the media as breakdancing – debuted this year, Thailand’s national team was asked about the kinds of support performers need. They said there was a lack of facilities for training in Thailand, meaning people have to practise in parks or shopping malls.

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