Category Archives: Asia Pacific

More than 140 refugees in Australian detention set to be resettled in Canada under sponsorship scheme

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Sixty-six people who’ve spent up to seven years in detention on PNG and Nauru and 78 onshore, plus their family members, passed initial approval

Almost 150 refugees held within Australia’s offshore processing system in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, or in onshore detention, are in the last stages of approval for resettlement in Canada.

The non-profit migrant and refugee settlement service Mosaic, based in Vancouver, said it had successfully submitted applications on behalf of 66 people in PNG and Nauru, a further 78 in onshore detention, and 98 family members in third countries.

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EU parliament ‘freezes’ China trade deal over sanctions

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Tit-for-tat sanctions over Beijing’s treatment of Uyghurs puts halt on investment agreement

The European parliament has voted overwhelmingly to “freeze” any consideration of a massive investment deal with China, following recent tit-for-tat sanctions over Beijing’s treatment of its Uyghur population in Xinjiang province.

According to the resolution, the parliament, which must ratify the deal, “demands that China lift the sanctions before parliament can deal with the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI)”. Some MEPs warned that the lifting of the sanctions would not in itself ensure the deal’s ratification.

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Ardern makes good on child poverty promise, but a long road lies ahead

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Analysis: the PM has spent big on tackling social issues, but it will still take New Zealand only halfway to meeting her child poverty goal

When she came to power, the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, grabbed international headlines for her commitments to national wellbeing and solving social issues such as child poverty, homelessness and the mental health crisis. Until now, progress on many of those hallmark issues has been plodding – or at times non-existent – making critics sceptical of whether the rhetoric on wellbeing had lined up with reality. The budget will be welcomed by progressives, as evidence the government is following through on assistance for the country’s most vulnerable.

A multibillion-dollar income boost for impoverished families was a headline item in the country’s new budget, announced on Thursday. Ardern’s government looked to harness the momentum of a better-than-expected Covid recovery to spend big on social problems.

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South Korea’s balancing act will test Biden’s plan to get tough with China

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Analysis: Seoul’s navigation of geopolitical landscape in east Asia hints at limits of united front with US

When the South Korean president goes to Washington DC on Friday, his discussions with Joe Biden about China will test the limits of the US president’s rhetoric to “work with [its] allies to hold China accountable”. It will also exhibit the dilemma faced by middle-sized powers such as South Korea.

The White House spokesperson, Jen Psaki, said last month that Moon Jae-in’s visit “will highlight the ironclad alliance between the United States and [South Korea], and the broad and deep ties between our governments, people and economies”.

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‘Pray for Myanmar’: Miss Universe pageant gets political

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Thuzar Wint Lwin, in dress of besieged Chin minority, highlights brutal repression since coup in Myanmar

In the months leading up to the Miss Universe pageant, most contestants were busy making promotional films and rehearsing for their moment in the limelight. Thuzar Wint Lwin of Myanmar was on the streets of Yangon, protesting against the country’s brutal army.

As the military used increasingly deadly force to crush rallies opposing its February coup, she visited the relatives of those who had been killed, donating her savings. Online, she raised awareness of military violence, despite the risk of retaliation.

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Chips with everything: how one Taiwanese company drives the world economy

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A Covid-driven global shortage of microchips has put manufacturer TSMC at the heart of the world’s recovery, as well as US-China tensions

Living on an island long coveted by a large and increasingly powerful neighbour, the residents of Taiwan have given some thought to where might be the best place to go should the worst happen. Some think it might be the hills, others historic buildings that China will want to preserve. By the same reasoning, some believe it is the factory run by the world’s biggest computer chip maker, TSMC.

Taiwan has for decades been both a global strategic flashpoint and one of the world’s economic powerhouses. In an industrial park about an hour’s drive from Taipei, those twin identities merge almost perfectly in the form of the factory run by TSMC, the world’s largest maker of computer chips – a facility so vital that some Taiwanese think it could be the safest place to flee to should China one day invade.

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Tokyo’s restaurateurs rail against alcohol ban as Covid measures bite

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Owners of izakayas in the Shimbashi district of Japan’s capital are facing an existential threat

A vivid rainbow heralds the arrival of dusk in Tokyo, but the fabled promise of a pot of gold must seem like a cruel joke to restaurateurs in Shimbashi, where office blocks stand in happy proximity to hundreds of watering holes.

In pre-coronavirus days, nightfall would be the cue for the neighbourhood’s neon lights to flicker into action and for touts armed with laminated menus to beckon office workers inside with promises of cheap food and drink.

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People flee in panic as 300-metre skyscraper wobbles in China – video

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One of China’s tallest skyscrapers was evacuated on Tuesday after it began to shake, sending panicked shoppers running to safety. The nearly 300-metre (980ft) SEG Plaza in Shenzhen, southern China, inexplicably began to shake at about 1pm, prompting an evacuation of people inside while pedestrians looked on open-mouthed. The building was closed by 2.40pm, according to local media reports

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Panic as 300-metre-high skyscraper wobbles in China

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SEG Plaza in Shenzhen, one of country’s tallest buildings, evacuated after it inexplicably starts shaking

One of China’s tallest skyscrapers was evacuated on Tuesday after it began to shake, sending panicked shoppers scampering to safety.

The near 300 metre (980ft) high SEG Plaza in Shenzhen, southern China, inexplicably began to shake at around 1pm, prompting an evacuation of people inside while pedestrians looked on open-mouthed.

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China divorces drop 70% after controversial ‘cooling off’ law

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Law requires couples to wait 30 days before formalising divorce – but some say it has made young people more likely to avoid marriage

The number of divorces in China dropped more than 70% in the first quarter of this year, after a controversial law forcing a “cooling-off period” for couples came into effect.

According to data published by the ministry of civil affairs, 296,000 divorces were registered during the first three months of 2021, down from 1.05m in the previous quarter, and 1.06m in the same time period the year before, according to state media.

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New Zealand to cut ‘low-skill’ immigration and refocus on wealthy

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Government signals sweeping changes to address ‘reliance on temporary migrant labour’

New Zealand has become an increasingly appealing destination for those seeking a haven – from Covid-19, economic recession or chaotic international politics. In recent years, the country gained a reputation for “billionaires’ boltholes”, as mega-rich speculators including Peter Thiel bought up remote properties in scenic, isolated regions.

But in a post-Covid world, the emigration dream will be less accessible – at least for those who don’t fall into the mega-rich category. On Monday, the New Zealand government announced it would be narrowing pathways for those hoping to migrate and work in the country, particularly those it classed as “low-skill” and low-wage workers. It simultaneously announced new measures to attract rich investors.

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Tokyo Olympics: more than 80% of Japanese oppose hosting Games – poll

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Japan expanded a coronavirus state of emergency on Friday as the nation battles a fourth wave of Covid infections

More than 80% of Japanese oppose hosting the Olympics this year, a new poll published on Monday showed, with just under 10 weeks until the Tokyo Games.

The latest survey comes after Japan expanded a coronavirus state of emergency Friday as the nation battles a fourth wave of virus infections.

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Lockdowns and panic-buying in Taiwan as Covid cases rise

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Country widely considered to have had one of best pandemic responses now racing to contain outbreak

Taiwan reported 206 new local cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, breaking the previous day’s record high of 180 as authorities brought in the strictest measures yet in a bid to contain the virus.

The outbreak, which began about three weeks ago among employees of the national airline and a connected quarantine hotel, has now produced about 85% of Taiwan’s total number of locally transmitted cases since the pandemic began.

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‘I can’t be that careless’: Australian Uyghur activist targeted online

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Nurgul Sawut, who has been named on a Chinese blacklist, says she’s experienced online trolling, nasty messages and malware

A Uyghur activist in Australia who has been the target of cyber-attacks by hacker groups in China says the Australian government needs to do more to educate the Uyghur community in Australia to protect themselves online.

Uyghur activists outside of China are frequently the target of hackers based in China.

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How missing CCTV footage turned a Chinese family’s tragedy into a national conspiracy

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A mother’s search for the truth about her son’s death exposes the level of public distrust in China’s authorities

On Mother’s Day last Sunday, 17-year-old Lin Weiqi wished his mother – referred to only as Madame Lu in Chinese media – a good day. “Mum, enjoy your day,” he said to her that morning. He was Lu’s only child. Like most Chinese parents of the one-child generation, Lin was her pride and joy.

Late in the afternoon, before Lin had gone back to his school in the south-western city of Chengdu, Lu prepared snacks for him in case he was hungry in the evening. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until an hour later.

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Taiwan records 180 new cases in island’s worst Covid outbreak of pandemic

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New restrictions, including a mandate on mask-wearing and limits on gatherings in the capital, Taipei, will stay in place for two weeks

Taiwan has reported 180 new cases of Covid-19 as it rushes to contain the worst outbreak the island has seen since the pandemic began. Authorities have raised the alert level in Taipei and the neighbouring county of New Taipei, limiting family gatherings, and ordering numerous industries to close.

Taiwan has been one of the world’s pandemic success stories, and its case numbers remain low relative to outbreaks around the world. But Saturday’s cases, which bring its total number so far to about 1,470 among a population of 24 million, mark the highest rates of community transmission since the pandemic began. Until now almost all of Taiwan’s cases were detected in new arrivals held in hotel quarantine.

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Heir of desperation as Japan wrestles with looming royal succession crisis

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Experts convened to consider changing male-only succession laws amid preponderance of women in the royal family

A panel of experts has begun talks on addressing the shortage of heirs to the Japanese imperial throne, as a poll showed that four in five members of the public are comfortable with the idea of women becoming reigning empresses.

Solving the succession crisis has taken on greater urgency due to a scarcity of males in the world’s oldest monarchy and the abdication, for health reasons, of Emperor Akihito.

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‘Have a little empathy’: Bali tires of badly behaved foreign influencers

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Tourists threaten the island’s economic recovery by ignoring Covid protocols, including refusing to wear masks and even making a porn film

A Russian Instagrammer who launched his motorbike off a dock, crashing into the sea. Two YouTube pranksters who fooled a supermarket guard with drawn-on face masks, violating the island’s health rules. A couple allegedly filming porn on a sacred mountain.

Bali has hosted a range of badly behaved influencers during the pandemic. And now it’s had enough.

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Parts of Taiwan lock down after record 29 new Covid cases

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Bars, restaurants and entertainment venues in Taipei to close and rapid testing stations to be set up

Taipei’s mayor has announced the indefinite closure of bars, internet cafes, gaming and entertainment venues and public sport centres from Saturday after Taiwan reported 29 new community transmission cases of Covid-19, its highest single-day figure since the pandemic began, including seven with no known source.

Business closures were announced by local governments in the capital and in other northern counties in response to the growing outbreak in those areas, going beyond national restrictions set by the central government. There was initial confusion about the types of businesses affected, and an earlier declaration of closing at midnight was later extended to 8am Saturday to give time to prepare. People in Taipei appeared to be heeding the warning and staying home on Friday evening.

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Hospitals overwhelmed as Covid cases surge in Osaka

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Beds almost at capacity and an estimated 17,000 people with symptoms waiting for treatment

A surge in coronavirus cases in Japan is forcing exhausted medical workers to make “heartbreaking” decisions about treatment as healthcare services are close to being overwhelmed, medics have said.

In Osaka, at the centre of the country’s fourth wave of infections, hospital beds are almost at capacity and reports say an estimated 17,000 people with virus symptoms are being treated at home or waiting to be admitted to a medical facility. In recent weeks more than a dozen have died before they could be hospitalised.

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