Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Thailand’s $1bn ketamine bust probably just chemicals after all

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Officials admit what they thought was 11.5 tonnes of drugs is most likely trisodium phosphate, a food additive and cleaning agent

Thai authorities have admitted that an 11.5-tonne drug bust may contain an innocent chemical used as a food additive or cleaning agent – and not ketamine, as they believed.

Thailand’s anti-narcotics bureau had hailed the seizure of what they said was nearly a billion dollars’ worth of ketamine – an anaesthetic that can also be used as a party drug.

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Australia’s foreign affairs chief cautions China against resorting to ‘coercion’

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Frances Adamson urges Beijing to reflect on how its increasingly assertive stance is being received by other countries

Australia’s foreign affairs chief has warned Beijing against resorting to “pressure or coercion”, declaring China would be wrong to assume it was now so powerful it could set the terms of its engagement with the world.

Amid heightened tensions between Australia and its largest trading partner, Frances Adamson used a major speech on Wednesday night to urge the Chinese government to reflect on how its increasingly assertive actions would be received by other countries.

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‘Remarkably effective’: Carrie Lam praises Hong Kong national security law

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Chief executive says in annual address the city’s problems driven by ‘external forces’ and pandemic

Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, has defended the crackdown on opposition by her government and Beijing, and praised the widely criticised national security law – while seeking to blame the city’s woes on foreign interference and the pandemic.

Lam’s annual policy address – which was postponed from October to allow for further consultation with Beijing – was delivered on Wednesday to a legislative council without its opposition members after the mass resignation of the pro-democracy caucus.

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Coronavirus live news: Macron says worst of French second wave over; death tolls in Italy and Spain surge

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French president says lockdown to ease; Italy reports most daily deaths since late March; Spain’s daily deaths highest of second wave

Scientists have warned the UK’s Christmas coronavirus plans, which will allow up to three households form a “bubble” to meet over the festive period, will cause the virus to spread and lead to further deaths.

Martin McKee, the professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: “We know that the virus spreads easiest where people mix together, close to each other, for long periods of time indoors. These are exactly the conditions the government seems to be encouraging.”

Brazil registered a further 31,100 confirmed Covid-19 cases over the last 24 hours and 630 deaths, the health ministry said.

The South American nation has now registered 6,118,708 cases since the pandemic began and the official death toll has risen to 170,115, according to ministry data.

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Carlos Ghosn: UN tells Japan treatment of ex-Nissan boss ‘fundamentally unfair’

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UN says former executive should be compensated for ‘arbitrary’ detention, though it made no judgment on allegations against him

The former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn’s multiple arrests and detentions in Japan before he dramatically fled the country last year were “arbitrary”, UN experts have ruled, urging Tokyo to pay him compensation.

In an opinion dated late last week and harshly condemned by Japan, the UN working group on arbitrary detention concluded that “the process of arresting and detaining Mr Ghosn four times was fundamentally unfair”.

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China launches Chang’e-5 mission to bring back rocks from moon

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Lunar landing is due in about eight days and entire mission is scheduled to last 23 days

China has launched a robotic spacecraft to bring back rocks from the moon – the first such attempt by any country since the 1970s.

The Long March-5, China’s largest carrier rocket, blasted off at 4.30am Beijing time on Tuesday from Wenchang space launch centre on the island of Hainan carrying the Chang’e-5 spacecraft.

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Hong Kong activists face jail after guilty plea – video

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Pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong, Ivan Lam and Agnes Chow arrived at West Kowloon magistrates courts to face charges related to illegal assembly stemming from a protest last year in Hong Kong.

The trial was scheduled to begin on Monday, but after pleading guilty they were taken away ahead of a sentencing hearing on Wednesday next week.

The trio of high-profile pro-democracy activists and former politicians, were facing multiple charges over an unauthorised protest outside police headquarters in June last year, and inciting others to take part.

They face a penalty of up to five years in prison 

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Shanghai Covid outbreak ‘traced to cargo from North America’

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Airport staff tested and flights cancelled as officials say two cargo handlers were first cases

A coronavirus outbreak in Shanghai has been traced to two cargo handlers who cleaned a container that had just arrived from North America, Chinese health officials have said.

Hundreds of flights were cancelled at Shanghai’s Pudong International airport, one of the world’s busiest transport hubs, amid chaotic scenes caused by a sudden decision to test airport staff on Sunday.

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Trump’s US investment ban aims to cement tough-on-China legacy

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Move is latest chapter in deteriorating relationship with Beijing and improvement under Joe Biden is unlikely

Donald Trump has banned US investment in a further 89 Chinese companies, and reportedly sent a navy admiral to Taiwan, as he seeks to secure a tough-on-China foreign policy legacy.

Multiple media outlets have reported plans by the Trump administration for a series of confrontations with China before Biden’s inauguration on 20 January, and the moves were largely expected. Foreign policy and political analysts believe Trump wants to leave a legacy of being tough on China, while simultaneously conducting a “scorched earth” policy on his way out of the White House.

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World’s powerful nations must not force allies into ‘binary choices’, Scott Morrison says

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Prime minister says diplomatic difficulties Australia is navigating are ‘a foretaste’ for others around the world

Scott Morrison has used a speech to the British Policy Exchange to call for a more nuanced appreciation of national interest, and more flexibility, when countries pursue relationships with America and China, because “stark choices are in no one’s interests”.

In a section of his speech outlining the challenges of navigating Australia’s fraught relationship with China in an era of escalating geopolitical competition, Morrison on Monday night said “greater latitude will be required from the world’s largest powers to accommodate the individual interests of their partners and allies” because “we all need a bit more room to move”.

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Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong faces jail after guilty plea over police HQ protests

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Joshua Wong urges everyone to ‘hang in there, add oil’ as he, Agnes Chow, and Ivan Lam are taken away ahead of sentencing next week

Hong Kong activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, and Ivan Lam face the prospect of jail after pleading guilty to charges relating to protests outside a police station last year.

The trial was scheduled to begin on Monday, but after pleading guilty they were taken away ahead of a sentencing hearing on Wednesday next week, where they face a penalty of up to five years in prison. Wong said he expected to be jailed.

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Head of Tibet government-in-exile visits White House for first time in six decades

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The visit by Lobsang Sangay, president of the Central Tibetan administration, could further infuriate Beijing

The head of the Tibetan government in exile has visited the White House for the first time in six decades, a move that could further infuriate China, which has accused the US of trying to destabilise the region.

Lobsang Sangay, the President of the Central Tibetan administration (CTA), was invited to Washington to meet officials on Friday, the CTA said. “This unprecedented meeting perhaps will set an optimistic tone for CTA participation with US officials and be more formalised in the coming years,” said the CTA, which is based in India’s Dharamshala.

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Elephant trapped in well in India rescued during 12-hour crane operation – video

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Forest staff and villagers in the Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu hoisted an elephant out of the bottom of a well in an operation that took more than 12 hours. A farmer heard the cries of the elephant and alerted local authorities who arrived at the 55ft-deep (16.7-metre) well with a team of 50.

Despite the depth of the well, the water inside was shallow and was pumped out to make it easier to access the 25-year-old male elephant. Two excavators, trucks and a crane were used in the operation, which brought the elephant out unharmed. 

The elephant will be released in the nearby Hosur forest area

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France to ease Covid rules as Asian countries consider stricter action

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WHO says Europe faces third wave early in 2021 if nations repeat their failures to prepare

France is preparing to ease its Covid-19 lockdown rules in the weeks leading up to Christmas with new daily caseloads falling and pressure building from retailers to allow the annual shopping season to go ahead.

But parts of east Asia that were thought to be controlling the disease have raised the possibility of new restrictions.

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Hackers ‘try to steal Covid vaccine secrets in intellectual property war’

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Agencies point finger at state-sponsored hackers from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea

State-sponsored hackers from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are engaged in concerted attempts to steal coronavirus vaccine secrets in what security experts describe as “an intellectual property war”.

They accuse hostile-state hackers of trying to obtain trial results early and seize sensitive information about mass production of drugs, at a time when a range of vaccines are close to being approved for the public.

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Australia demands China explain why it has been singled out on trade restrictions

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Australia’s trade minister says China should clarify why other nations maintained workable relations despite differences

China should explain why it appears to have singled out Australia with a range of import restrictions that have disrupted trade flows and undermined trust in the economic relationship, the Australian trade minister has said.

With Australia and its largest trading partner locked in a stalemate over how to end the tensions, Simon Birmingham also used a television interview on Sunday to accuse the Chinese embassy in Canberra of taking a number of unhelpful actions this year.

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Thai teenagers tell rulers: ‘You’re dinosaurs’

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Thousands of students continue to take to streets of Bangkok to demand reform of monarchy, government and education

Outside one of Bangkok’s busy shopping arcades, crowds of young protesters bounce balloons – coloured grey with patches of molten orange – above their heads.

“We will act as a meteorite and hit the outdated ways of the older generations in this country,” the protest organisers explained. “We will talk about all the topics that the dinosaurs don’t want to hear.” Inflatable dinosaurs wobbled in the afternoon heat, representing the Thai government. The symbols are playful, but the message is clear: teenagers want change.

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Human rights must not be ‘trampled’ in global rush for PPE, say MPs

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Calls come after Guardian finds UK sourced PPE from factories in China where North Koreans work in modern slavery

MPs and experts in the procurement of personal protective equipment have said human rights must not be “trampled” in the rush to secure PPE for frontline workers via global supply chains.

The calls come after a Guardian investigation found evidence that the British government had sourced PPE from factories in China where hundreds of North Korean women have been secretly working in conditions of modern slavery.

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US and Taiwan sign five-year agreement on health, tech and security

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Countries emphasise potential for cooperation and future partnerships, which Beijing opposes

Taiwan and the United States have held their first high-level meetings under a new economic dialogue, inking a five-year agreement and pledging future cooperation on health, tech, and security.

The talks, held amid a contentious US presidential transition period and high regional tensions with China, did not advance Taiwan’s hopes for a trade deal with US, despite the two countries growing closer under Donald Trump and his pushback on Beijing.

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China to Australia: stop treating us as a threat or we won’t pick up the phone

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Exclusive: Beijing ministers won’t speak to counterparts until Canberra discards ‘cold war mentality’, embassy says

Chinese government ministers won’t start answering phone calls from their Australian counterparts unless Canberra stops treating Beijing as a strategic threat, a senior embassy official has warned.

China is urging the Morrison government to make a clear decision on whether it sees Beijing as a “threat” or an “opportunity”, setting this up as a key precondition for resuming ministerial-level talks, which have been frozen since early this year.

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