Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Rumours swirl over dramatic fall of Xi loyalist Qin Gang

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Sacked foreign minister’s rise was linked to his ties to president; his disappearance and dismissal have caused a scandal

The dismissal of Qin Gang, a key Xi Jinping loyalist, from the post of Chinese foreign minister is shaping up to be one of the country’s biggest political scandals in years. Qin spent just seven months in the role, the shortest tenure of any to have served, and mysteriously disappeared from view last month. He was sacked on Tuesday, replaced with his predecessor Wang Yi, and is yet to reappear in public.

Political purgings – if that is what has happened to Qin – are not rare in China. Thousands of officials, including high-ranking political rivals of Xi, have been targeted by anti-corruption campaigns or shuffled out of view – sometimes literally, as in the case of the former president Hu Jintao, who was physically removed from his seat at a Communist party meeting in Beijing last year.

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Malaysian musicians prepare lawsuit against the 1975 over festival cancellation

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Authorities cancelled the Good Vibes festival after frontman Matty Healy criticised the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws, leading musicians and food vendors to seek damages

A group of Malaysian musicians and festival vendors are preparing a class action lawsuit against the 1975 after frontman Matty Healy’s onstage criticism of the government’s anti-LGBTQ+ at the Good Vibes festival saw the entire event cancelled.

On Friday, Healy paused the band’s set at the Kuala Lumpur event to admit that he hadn’t looked into the country’s punitive LGBTQ+ laws before agreeing to perform there. “I don’t see the fucking point, right, I do not see the point of inviting the 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with,” he said.

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Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra will return to Thailand next month, daughter says

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Influential figure who has spent 15 years in exile is set for comeback at a time of political crisis in homeland

Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has spent more than 15 years in self-imposed exile to avoid legal charges, will return to the country next month, his daughter has said, amid tense political deadlock.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who recently ran as a prime ministerial candidate for Pheu Thai, the party backed by her father, said Thaksin would return on 10 August.

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Japan’s population drops by nearly 800,000 with falls in every prefecture for the first time

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Changing demographics are affecting nearly every part of society, while efforts to turn around the decline have so far had little impact

Every one of Japan’s 47 prefectures posted a population drop in 2022, while the total number of Japanese people fell by more than 800,000. The figures released by the Japan’s internal affairs ministry mark two new unwelcome records for a nation sailing into uncharted demographic territory, but on a course many other countries are set to follow.

Japan’s prime minister has called the trend a crisis and vowed to tackle the situation. But national policies have so far failed to dent population decline, though concerted efforts by a sprinkling of small towns have had some effect.

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Guam fears becoming ‘target’ over planned $1.5bn US defence system

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Proposed air and missile defences raise ire of residents who are also concerned about environmental impacts

A planned missile defence system on the island of Guam could turn the US Pacific territory into a “target,” local residents have said, as opposition to the plans grow.

The Pentagon plans to invest $1.5bn in a 360-degree, air and missile defence architecture on Guam. It aims to complete the system by 2027.

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The growing list of Chinese elites who disappear but later resurface subdued

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Foreign minister Qin Gang’s mysterious absence and replacement follows a pattern of falls from grace for rising stars

Qin Gang, China’s erstwhile foreign minister, has officially been replaced by Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, in a surprise reshuffle that provided a sliver of clarity regarding Qin’s mysterious month-long absence. But many questions remain unanswered.

On Tuesday, the standing committee of China’s National People’s Congress convened a surprise session. The brief readout of the meeting stated that Qin had been removed as foreign minister, stalling, for now, the career of a former rising star of the Chinese Communist party (CCP) and close adviser to Xi Jinping, China’s leader.

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Still no sign of Qin Gang as China says foreign minister has been replaced

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Beijing announces former US ambassador has been removed from office after speculation about his whereabouts

China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, who has not been seen in public for almost a month amid a mysterious absence, has been removed from office and replaced by his predecessor, Wang Yi, China’s top legislative body has announced.

The sudden calling of a special meeting Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) with one day’s notice, had fuelled speculation there may be answers about the disappearance of Qin, who was last seen in public almost a month ago.

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Final straw? Choc-mint drink becomes symbol of political betrayal in Thailand

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Cafes refuse to sell Pheu Thai party candidate’s favourite beverage amid fears of plot to ice-out coalition partners

For some in Thailand, the thought of a chocolate-mint ice drink suddenly leaves a bad taste.

Several cafes have suspended their sales. One shop described it as a “betray-your-friend” drink in a graphic posted on their Facebook page. Another said it was a drink to “kick your friend into the boat”, a phrase that means to push a friend away.

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Singapore to execute a woman for first time in almost 20 years

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Killing of Saridewi Djamani is one of two this week as activists say most on death row are marginalised people

Singapore is due to execute a woman for the first time in almost 20 years on Friday, one of two killings planned for this week.

Singaporean national Saridewi Djamani was sentenced to the mandatory death penalty in 2018, after she was found guilty of possession of about 30g of heroin for the purposes of trafficking, according to the Transformative Justice Collective (TJC), which tracks death row cases.

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UK accused of unlawful crackdown on visitors from Timor-Leste

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Family members of East Timorese in UK denied right to visit, as Home Office says too many hoping to work illegally

The Home Office has been accused of implementing discriminatory policies towards visitors from Timor-Leste, many of whom have the right to travel to the UK but who have been blocked from entering the country in large numbers.

Regulations were changed last week to require East Timorese visitors to apply for visas before travelling to the UK, after decades of visa-free travel. The Foreign Office said this was in response to a “sustained and significant” rise in the number of people travelling from the tiny south-east Asian island with the intention of working here illegally.

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Taiwan: teenage girl sexually abused in botched sting operation

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Police had asked the 13-year-old to assist them in an undercover operation by meeting a man she had accused of blackmailing her

Two Taiwanese police officers are under investigation after a teenager was assaulted by a man she had accused of blackmail, while taking part in a police sting operation to catch him.

The incident took place in November 2020, when the then 13-year-old told police in the northern Taiwan city of Taoyuan that she had been threatened by a man on a dating app, who tried to coerce her into sex by threatening to publish explicit photos of her online.

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Talks initiated with North Korea over US soldier who ran across border

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British general says US-led United Nations Command gives few details of contacts over Travis King who crossed line on 18 July

The US-led United Nations Command has initiated talks with North Korea about the American soldier who ran into that country and crossed one of the most militarized borders in the world, according to an official.

But a British lieutenant general who helps lead the UN command stopped short of saying exactly when talks about Travis King began, whether they have been constructive or how many exchanges there have been. The lieutenant general, Andrew Harrison, also would not address any known details about King’s health condition.

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Malaysia’s gay community fears backlash after Matty Healy’s outburst

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The 1975 singer’s onstage condemnation of homophobic laws has angered conservatives and left some LGBTQ+ people uneasy

The 1975 frontman Matty Healy’s recent appearance at a festival in Kuala Lumpur – where he criticised Malaysia’s homophobic laws and kissed a male bandmate on stage – has strongly angered conservatives in the country.

Members of the LGBTQ+ community have also expressed unease over his actions, fearing that the episode risks further exacerbating the hostilities they face.

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North Korea fires missiles into sea hours after US submarine arrives in the South

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South Korean armed forces condemn the two launches as a ‘grave provocation’

North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast, adding to a recent streak of weapons testing that is apparently in protest against the US sending naval assets to South Korea.

In its third round of launches since last week, North Korea fired the missiles from an area near its capital, Pyongyang, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said early on Tuesday local time. It said the missiles travelled about 250 miles (400km) before landing in waters off the Korean peninsula’s eastern coast.

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Daughter of Hong Kong exiled activist detained by national security police

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Mimi Mi Wahng Yuen, daughter of wanted pro-democracy activist Elmer Yuen, taken for questioning, according to local media

Hong Kong national security police have reportedly detained the daughter, son, and daughter-in-law of a wanted activist, in the latest move targeting the families of pro-democracy figures in exile.

Mimi Mi Wahng Yuen, the daughter of Elmer Yuen, her brother Derek, and his wife, the legislator Eunice Yung, were taken for questioning on Monday morning, according to local media. Sing Tao Daily reported Mimi had only arrived from Los Angeles on Monday morning.

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School gym roof collapses in China, killing 11

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State media says illegally placed construction material on the gymnasium’s roof was behind collapse

Eleven people were killed after the concrete roof of a school gymnasium collapsed in China’s Qiqihar city – many of them believed to be young female volleyball players – with authorities saying the illegal stacking of materials on the roof may have caused the cave in.

The collapse at the No. 34 Middle School in Longsha District in Qiqihar, located in the north-east Heilongjiang province, was reported in the early afternoon on Sunday, but the last remaining person wasn’t pulled out of the rubble until Monday morning.

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Hun Sen issues threat to Cambodians who spoiled ballots

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Authoritarian ruler said voters who destroyed ballot papers will face legal action

Cambodia’s authoritarian leader has warned voters who destroyed their ballots to turn themselves in or face legal consequences, as he claimed victory after running virtually uncontested in a one-sided election.

Hun Sen, 70, who has governed for almost four decades, said in a Telegram post on Sunday night that unofficial results showed his party had won 120 seats and a royalist party had won five.

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Cambodia strongman Hun Sen set to claim landslide election victory after banning opposition

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Long-time ruler, who has ruthlessly oppressed critics, has indicated he will soon hand power to his son

Cambodians have begun voting in a one-sided general election in which the country’s strongman leader will run virtually uncontested.

It’s expected that Hun Sen, 70, who has ruled the country for almost four decades, will claim a landslide victory in Sunday’s vote. The country’s main opposition party, the Candlelight Party, was banned from running after it was accused of not providing the right paperwork.

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Malaysia bans the 1975 after Matty Healy defies anti-LGBTQ+ laws with stage kiss

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Singer’s protest kiss with bandmate and criticism of anti-homosexuality law leads to ban and festival cancellation

The English band the 1975 have been banned from performing in Malaysia after their lead singer criticised the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws on stage.

The group, fronted by Matty Healy, were playing at the Good Vibes festival in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

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US-China cultural exchange at low point after tensions and Covid, data shows

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Tourism, academia and literature all exhibit signs that trend of closer ties has gone into reverse

Cultural ties between the US and China are at a low point after several years of decline, according to Guardian analysis of official figures.

The Covid-19 pandemic and travel restrictions, coupled with the continuing trade war between the two countries, is diluting cultural exchanges, with visitor numbers, students and even the world of literature all affected.

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