Category Archives: Asia Pacific

‘The eighth wonder of the world’: China’s terracotta warriors to march on Australia for blockbuster show

Posted on by

Perth will host huge exhibition of ancient treasures from first emperor’s tomb in June, with 40% of the artefacts leaving China for the first time ever

Two thousand years ago, in a bid to conquer death itself, China’s first emperor Qin Shi Huang commissioned a city of the dead: a 49 sq km mausoleum guarded by an army of clay warriors, built to defend his tomb for eternity.

When farmers near Xi’an unearthed the first clay head in 1974, they cracked open one of humanity’s greatest archaeological mysteries, with more than 8,000 Terracotta Warriors discovered over the last 50 years. Now, fragments of that dream of immortality rise again – this time in Perth, where the largest exhibition of the Terracotta Warriors ever staged in Australia will head later this year

Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning

Continue reading...

Student rescued from Mount Fuji twice in one week

Posted on by

Chinese national, 27, reportedly returned to Japan’s highest mountain days after first rescue to retrieve his phone

A university student has been rescued from the slopes of Mount Fuji twice in the space of a week – the second time during an attempt to retrieve his mobile phone.

The hapless climber, a 27-year-old Chinese national who has not been named, was airlifted from Japan’s highest mountain last week, only to be the subject of a second search four days later.

Continue reading...

China and Philippines display competing flags on disputed South China Sea sandbank

Posted on by

Beijing and Manila accuse each other of illegal activities around Sandy Cay near the Spratly Isles, as joint US-Filipino military drills get under way in region

China and the Philippines have displayed their national flags in competing photo opportunities on a disputed sandbank in the South China sea, ratcheting up longstanding regional tensions between the two countries.

The dispute played out at Sandy Cay, which is part of the disputed Spratly Islands, and comes days after the US and the Philippines launched their annual joint military drills called “Balikatan”, or “shoulder to shoulder”, which this year will include an integrated air and missile defence simulation for the first time.

Continue reading...

North Korea confirms for first time it has sent troops to fight for Russia in Ukraine war

Posted on by

Battle in Kursk showed ‘highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship’ between North Korea and Russia, state news says, hailing ‘heroes’

North Korea has confirmed for the first time that it has sent troops to fight for Russia in the war with Ukraine under the orders of the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, who described the soldiers as “heroes”.

The acknowledgment comes amid claims by the Kremlin – contested by Ukraine – that North Korean forces helped recapture Russia’s Kursk region.

Continue reading...

US treasury secretary says ‘there is a path’ with China over tariff negotiations

Posted on by

‘The Chinese will see this high tariff level is unsustainable for their business,’ says Scott Bessent

The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said “there is a path” to an agreement with China over tariffs after he had interactions with his Chinese counterparts last week in Washington.

“I had interaction with my Chinese counterparts, but it was more on the traditional things like financial stability, global economic early warnings,” Bessent told ABC News’s This Week on Sunday, explaining that he spoke to the Chinese during International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington. “I don’t know if President Trump has spoken with President Xi,” he added.

Continue reading...

Oranges are not the only fruit: Cumbrian marmalade awards offer unusual blends

Posted on by

Winning Japanese preserve features pear and yuzu, while entry in ‘interesting additions’ includes peanut butter

Marmalade was never really my jam, but at the world marmalade awards at Dalemain house on the edge of the Lake District, I found myself a convert.

The experience has given weight to my theory that you might fall in love with any food if you try it at its finest. Hate tomatoes? Go to Italy. Not a fan of marmalade? Savour a spoonful in the presence of beaming marmalade fanatics who have spent their lives devoted to creating the tangiest, sweetest, jelly-ish version of the preserve.

Continue reading...

Trump administration investigating California university over foreign gifts

Posted on by

DoE investigation revives reports that UC Berkeley failed to disclose Chinese funding for a now severed partnership

The Trump administration launched an investigation into the University of California, Berkeley, on Friday centered on foreign funding, making it the latest university to be targeted by the federal government.

The investigation revives criticism from several years ago about the university’s partnership with China’s Tsinghua University. It comes after Donald Trump earlier this week signed a series of executive orders focused on universities that he views as liberal adversaries to his political agenda.

Continue reading...

Trump administration investigating California university over foreign gifts

Posted on by

DoE investigation revives reports that UC Berkeley failed to disclose Chinese funding for a now severed partnership

The Trump administration launched an investigation into the University of California, Berkeley, on Friday centered on foreign funding, making it the latest university to be targeted by the federal government.

The investigation revives criticism from several years ago about the university’s partnership with China’s Tsinghua University. It comes after Donald Trump earlier this week signed a series of executive orders focused on universities that he views as liberal adversaries to his political agenda.

Continue reading...

Xi announces plan for Chinese economy to counter impact of US trade war

Posted on by

Beijing will ‘strengthen bottom-line thinking’ as reports say it could drop tariffs on some US products

Xi Jinping has announced a plan to counter China’s continuing economic problems and the impact of the US trade war, as reports swirl that it could drop tariffs on some US products, including semiconductors.

Friday’s meeting of the politburo was convened to discuss China’s economy, which since the pandemic has faced difficulties fuelled by a housing sector crisis, youth unemployment and Donald Trump’s tariffs on all Chinese imports to the US.

Continue reading...

Han Kang Nobel prize lecture book sells 10,000 copies in first day online in South Korea

Posted on by

Korean retailers report strong sales for Light and Thread, featuring speeches, essays and poems by novelist

A book featuring Han Kang’s Nobel prize lecture sold 10,000 copies in its first day on sale online.

Light and Thread, which takes its title from Han’s December lecture, is her first book to be published in South Korea since she was announced as the winner of the Nobel prize in literature last October.

Continue reading...

California’s economy surpasses Japan’s as it becomes fourth largest in world

Posted on by

State’s nominal GDP reaches $4.1tn, edging out Japan’s $4.02tn, ranking it behind the US, China and Germany

California’s economy has surpassed Japan’s, making the Golden state the fourth largest economy in the world, Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Thursday.

The state’s nominal GDP reached $4.1tn, according to data from the International Monetary Fund and the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, edging out Japan’s $4.02tn nominal GDP. California now ranks behind the US at $29.18tn, China at $18.74tn and Germany at $4.65tn.

Continue reading...

US writers at growing risk of crackdown on free speech, says PEN America

Posted on by

China again biggest jailer of writers in 2024, followed by Iran – with Israel in fifth place, says organisation’s annual report

Writers in the US are at growing risk amid a worldwide crackdown on free speech that has begun to spread to countries previously renowned for unfettered expression and openness, according to a leading writers’ advocacy group.

PEN America said it was concerned about an emerging threat from the Trump administration as it published its annual Freedom to Write index report, which showed that the number of writers jailed worldwide had jumped for the sixth year running to 375 in 2024, compared with 339 the year before.

Continue reading...

Two US marines investigated over alleged rape at military base in Okinawa

Posted on by

Allegations come days after Japanese authorities increased efforts to deter crimes by US servicemen on island

Two US marines based on the Japanese island of Okinawa are being investigated for alleged rape, days after local authorities stepped up efforts to deter sexual and other crimes by US service personnel.

A marine in his 20s is suspected of raping a Japanese woman in a bathroom at a US military base last month, while a second man, also a marine in his 20s, allegedly raped a woman at a base in January, according to media reports.

Continue reading...

Taiwan president will not attend Pope Francis’s funeral

Posted on by

Taiwan to send former vice-president despite Vatican being one of country’s few diplomatic allies

Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, will not attend the funeral of Pope Francis, despite his foreign ministry saying earlier it was their “most important aim” in negotiations with the Vatican that he be there in person.

The ministry announced on Wednesday that Taiwan would be sending its former vice-president, Chen Chien-jen as special envoy. Chen has deep ties with the Vatican and met Pope Francis six times, but the decision means Taiwan’s delegation will be without a serving government official, despite the Vatican being one of Taiwan’s few diplomatic allies.

Continue reading...

Populist party in New Zealand introduces bill to define gender as biological

Posted on by

The New Zealand First member’s bill is a long shot to become law as it has to be selected at random from a ballot and then garner majority support

A populist party in New Zealand’s governing coalition has introduced a bill to parliament that if enacted would define women and men by their biology, preventing trans women and men being recognised by law.

The New Zealand First member’s bill is a long shot to become law as it has to be selected at random from a ballot and then garner majority support in parliament.

Continue reading...

Rice crisis: Japan imports grain from South Korea for first time in more than 25 years

Posted on by

Japanese consumers who used to treat foreign-grown rice with scepticism have been forced to develop a taste for it amid domestic shortage

Japan has imported rice from South Korea for the first time in a quarter of a century in an attempt to address soaring prices and growing consumer anger.

South Korean rice arrived in Japan last month for the first time since 1999, according to media reports, as the price of domestically produced grain continued to rise, despite government attempts to relieve the pressure on shoppers.

Continue reading...

Boeing investors brace for fallout from Trump tariffs

Posted on by

Jets intended for Chinese airline returned to US, raising fears for planemaker as results near

Investors in Boeing are braced to learn the full impact of Donald Trump’s trade war, amid fears the US planemaker could be hit harder than first expected after jets intended for a Chinese airline were returned to the US.

A Boeing 737 Max 8 plane intended for use by a Chinese airline returned to the US on Monday from Boeing’s China finishing centre, according to flight data cited by Reuters. It followed the arrival in the US on Sunday of another 737 Max painted in the livery of China’s Xiamen Airlines at Boeing’s US production hub in Seattle.

Continue reading...

‘Propaganda’: Albanese mocks Russia’s ‘you have no cards’ warning to Australia

Posted on by

Incendiary letter by Moscow’s envoy says Australians should be more concerned about US bases on their soil than a Russian base in Indonesia

Russian warnings to Australia that “you have no cards” to stop Russian military activity in the Indo-Pacific have been mocked by Anthony Albanese, who has dismissed an incendiary letter from an ambassador as authoritarian “propaganda”.

The unsubstantiated spectre of a proposed Russian military airbase on Indonesian territory has loomed over the past week of Australia’s federal election campaign, with the opposition accusing the government of obfuscating and dodging questions, and the government responding that the opposition had misrepresented the Indonesian government and actively fanned Russian propaganda.

Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter

Continue reading...

China pits humanoid robots against humans in half-marathon for first time

Posted on by

Twenty-one humanoid robots joined thousands of runners at the Yizhuang half-marathon in Beijing

Twenty-one humanoid robots joined thousands of runners at the Yizhuang half-marathon in Beijing on Saturday, the first time these machines have raced alongside humans over a 21km course.

The robots from Chinese manufacturers such as DroidVP and Noetix Robotics came in all shapes and sizes, some shorter than 1.2m, others as tall as 1.8m. One company boasted that its robot looked almost human, with feminine features and the ability to wink and smile. Some firms tested their robots for weeks before the race. Beijing officials have described the event as more akin to motor racing, given the need for engineering and navigation teams.

Continue reading...

China dismisses Zelenskyy’s claim it has supplied weapons to Russia

Posted on by

Beijing rejects Ukrainian president’s accusation as ‘groundless’ and says it is committed to ending the conflict

China’s foreign ministry has dismissed as “groundless” the accusation by Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the country had been supplying weapons to Russia.

The comments, made at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Friday, came a day after the Ukrainian president said China was supplying weapons to Russia, including gunpowder and artillery, and that Chinese representatives were involved in weapons production on Russian territory.

Continue reading...