Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Vietnam urged to free green activist Nguy Thi Khanh as it bids to join UN rights body

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Goldman laureates raise concerns over Vietnam’s record on suppressing environmental protest

More than 50 Goldman environmental prize laureates from 41 countries have written to the UN human rights council as it considers admitting Vietnam as a new member.

In the letter, which comes as the council meets for its 51st session (12 September – 7 October), the prize winners raise concerns over Vietnam’s human rights record, in particular the sentencing in June of Nguy Thi Khanh, a fellow Goldman prize winner and Vietnam’s best-known environmental advocate, to two years’ imprisonment for alleged tax evasion.

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New Zealand MPs pay tribute to Queen mixed with sharp rebukes of colonial past

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While all lawmakers offered condolences to the royal family, several also discussed the monarchy’s fraught and complex history

As New Zealand’s parliament gathered to pay tribute to the Queen, honours and admiration were mixed with sharp criticism of a monarchy built on “stolen land, stolen resources, and stolen treasure”.

On Tuesday, parliament held a special debate to allow politicians of all parties to acknowledge the monarch’s death. While all offered condolences to the royal family for their loss, a number of MPs also discussed the monarchy’s fraught and complex history.

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Mystery over new woman in Kim Jong-un’s inner circle

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Woman has been pictured at North Korean leader’s side in recent months, often carrying a handbag

Often spotted in an understated suit dress, glasses, and carrying a black handbag, there’s a new character in the inner circle of Kim Jong-un in nuclear-armed North Korea. But her identity, for now, remains a mystery.

She was at Kim’s side last week during a massive outdoor concert and was also seen carrying folders at a speech to the country’s parliament, the Supreme People’s Assembly, in which Kim vowed never to give up nuclear weapons.

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Hong Kong residents queue for hours to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth

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British consulate in Hong Kong extends opening hours as thousands gather to remember ‘boss lady’

It was the hottest day on record for September, yet under a sweltering sun, thousands of Hongkongers flocked to the British consulate, waiting up to four hours in a long queue that stretched more than 500 metres into a public park to sign the book of condolence for Queen Elizabeth II. The next day, thousands turned up again, prompting the consulate to extend opening hours to 7pm for the whole week.

Many came to eulogise the ‘boss lady’ – an affectionate nickname for the Queen who was Hong Kong’s colonial head of state for 45 years – while also cherishing the opportunity to meet like-minded Hongkongers and share their memories of the city under British rule during the long wait.

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Thai court orders repair of The Beach location 22 years after filming

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Ruling on Maya Bay, on Ko Phi Phi Leh, comes decades after local authorities filed lawsuit over environmental harm

More than two decades after the Hollywood film The Beach was shot at Thailand’s glittering Maya Bay, the kingdom’s supreme court has ordered officials to press ahead with environmental rehabilitation work.

The 2000 adventure drama, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, drew criticism for the impact of the shoot on the once pristine sands of the bay, located on the island of Ko Phi Phi Leh in southern Thailand.

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China tells banks to check exposure to debt-laden Fosun conglomerate

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Sprawling group owns assets including Thomas Cook, Club Med and Wolverhampton Wanderers

China’s biggest banks and state-owned companies have been told to check their financial exposure to Fosun, the sprawling conglomerate that owns assets including the Premier League football club Wolverhampton Wanderers, as the heavily debt-laden group struggles from the impact of downturn in the property sector in its home market.

The financial strength of the Shanghai-based group, co-founded in 1992 by the billionaire Guo Guangchang and built into one of China’s largest non-state-owned conglomerates, has come under scrutiny after a huge sell-off in property bonds that began in June.

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Chinese pork prices surge to new high prompting authorities to act

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Pork costs in China, the world’s biggest consumer, rose an average of 22.5% last month

The price of Chinese pork surged to a new high in August, prompting authorities to take the year’s first dip into national meat reserves to ensure supply for the holidays.

Pork costs in China rose an average of 22.5% last month, compared with last year. It followed the highest recorded month-on-month increase of 25.6% in July, as CPI also hit a two-year high of 2.7%. August’s rise occurred despite an unexpected slowdown of CPI inflation to 2.5%.

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Pressure builds on Japan to return to unrestricted tourism by end of month

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Businesses want prime minister Fumio Kishida to loosen restrictions to help the world’s third-biggest economy recover from the pandemic

Japan could return to unfettered tourism by the end of next month as pressure builds on the government to end Covid-19 travel restrictions and cash in on a weak yen.

Officials are reportedly considering removing the current daily cap of 50,000 arrivals, which includes returning residents, and a return to visa-free travel. A rule requiring individual travellers to make bookings through travel agencies could also be lifted, according to media reports.

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New Zealand drops mask and vaccine mandates in sweeping Covid changes

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Jacinda Ardern says it is time to ‘turn the page’ on the pandemic as she scraps all but a handful of restrictions

Jacinda Ardern has declared it “time to safely turn the page” on New Zealand’s Covid-19 restrictions, scrapping all but a handful of remaining rules.

New Zealand, which once eliminated the virus through the toughest pandemic rules in the world, has made relaxations similar to Australian or European conditions.

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Jacinda Ardern expects New Zealand’s royal ties to ‘deepen’ under King Charles III

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New Zealand and Australia hold ceremonies to recognise new head of state and pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II

Australia and New Zealand have held proclamation ceremonies for the new head of state King Charles III, with New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern saying she expected her country’s relationship with the royal family to “deepen”, and Australia declaring a one-off public holiday as a national day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II.

New Zealand held its formal ceremony on parliament’s grounds, with the proceedings led by governer general Cindy Kiro and Ardern, beginning with the national anthem and a prayer in te reo Māori – the Indigenous language.

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King Charles’s ascension ignites debate over royals across Commonwealth

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Head of state role in doubt in realms from Jamaica to New Zealand after death of Queen Elizabeth II

King Charles’s ascension to the throne has reignited a debate over whether the royal family deserves a global role in the 21st century, no more so than in the 14 Commonwealth realms where the British monarch remains the head of state.

A legacy of empire and slavery that was entwined with British royalty for centuries has raised tough questions about the place of a foreign king, and republican movements from the Pacific to North America to the Caribbean will be assessing whether they should seize the moment.

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‘A new way of life’: the Marxist, post-capitalist, green manifesto captivating Japan

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Kohei Saito’s book Capital in the Anthropocene has become an unlikely hit among young people and is about to be translated into English

The climate crisis will spiral out of control unless the world applies “emergency brakes” to capitalism and devises a “new way of living”, according to a Japanese academic whose book on Marxism and the environment has become a surprise bestseller.

The message from Kohei Saito, an associate professor at Tokyo University, is simple: capitalism’s demand for unlimited profits is destroying the planet and only “degrowth” can repair the damage by slowing down social production and sharing wealth.

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‘A leader of the world’: south-east Asian countries open to Putin pivot

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Only Singapore has imposed sanctions, while others have been receptive to Moscow’s offers of friendship

The head of Myanmar’s military junta beamed with joy as he shook hands with Vladimir Putin this week. “We would call you not just the leader of Russia but a leader of the world because you control and organise stability around the whole world,” Min Aung Hlaing said.

His remarks came as Putin claimed in a defiant speech that European efforts to isolate Russia would fail: instead, he would pivot to Asia.

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Indian and Chinese troops pull back from disputed Himalayan border area

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Forces disengaging in Gogra-Hot Springs area as peace talks since 2020 clashes carry on

Indian and Chinese troops have begun to pull back from another disputed Himalayan border area, as peace talks between senior military officials after deadly clashes in 2020 continue.

The two defence ministries confirmed troops were disengaging from respective sides in the area of Gogra-Hot Springs, in a move “conducive to the peace and tranquillity in the border areas”.

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Kim Jong-un says new law guarantees North Korea will never give up nuclear weapons

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Leader says North Korea’s nuclear status is now ‘irreversible’, with military allowed to ‘automatically’ use atomic weapons

North Korea has passed a law enshrining the right to “automatically” use preemptive nuclear strikes to protect itself, a move leader Kim Jong-un said makes its nuclear status “irreversible” and bars any denuclearisation talks, state media has reported.

The move comes as observers say North Korea appears to be preparing to resume nuclear testing for the first time since 2017, after historic summits with then-US president Donald Trump and other world leaders in 2018 failed to persuade Kim to abandon his weapons development.

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Solomon Islands to delay election as PM tells Australia to ‘get ready’ to fund vote

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Manasseh Sogavare pushed for the election to be delayed, saying country could not host election and Pacific Games in the same year

The Solomon Islands’ government has voted to delay its national elections, after it passed a controversial bill submitted by the prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, to postpone the poll until after the country has hosted the Pacific Games in November 2023.

The vote passed with 37 votes for, nine against and three MPs absent during the voting.

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Evergrande lenders appoint receiver to seize Hong Kong HQ – sources

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Crisis at debt-laden Chinese property developer deepens in wake of default last year and failure to sell building

Lenders to the struggling Chinese developer Evergrande Group have appointed a receiver to seize its Hong Kong headquarters, two sources have said, as the world’s most indebted developer struggles to emerge from its debt crisis.

Evergrande is saddled with more than $300bn (£260bn) in liabilities and has been kept alive by a government-run rescue operation since it defaulted on $22.7bn of overseas debts in December last year.

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Chinese nut-picker survives 200-mile journey in escaped hydrogen balloon

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Man spent two days aloft after balloon he was using to harvest pine nuts became untethered

A man has been found safe after he spent two days aloft in a hydrogen balloon that became untethered while he was using it to harvest pine nuts from a tree, according to Chinese state media.

The man, identified only by his surname, Hu, and a partner were collecting pine nuts on Sunday in a forest park in Heilongjiang province in north-east China when they lost control and the balloon sailed off on a 200-mile journey.

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Ex-president demands inquiry into Marshall Islands ‘mini-state plot’

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Hilda Heine calls for investigation into Chinese couple’s alleged efforts to bribe officials to help set up tax haven

A former president of the Marshall Islands has called for an investigation into an alleged plot by a Chinese couple to establish a mini-state inside its borders and set it up as a lucrative tax-break haven.

The pair were charged by US prosecutors with bribery and money-laundering offences over a “multi-year scheme” that included establishing a non-governmental organisation, allegedly bribing five Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) officials and attempting to bribe a sixth. One of the five was allegedly given cash to bribe others into supporting the carving out of a Hong Kong-style territory.

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Babel: the BookTok sensation that melds dark academia with a post-colonial critique

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Set at Oxford in the 1800s, Rebecca F Kuang’s new novel is a magic-infused allegory for structural oppression – and social media can’t get enough of it

A boy lies still beside the body of his mother. Her skin is blue and her eyes are open, wet and glassy. It is 1828, and a cholera epidemic has swept through Canton, China.

The boy is the only one left alive in the house and is on the brink of death when a quiet white Englishman brings him to London. There, the young Chinese boy is named Robert Swift and grows up in solitude, trained in English, Latin, ancient Greek and Chinese. For what reason, he does not yet know.

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