Category Archives: Asia Pacific

China celebrates 70th anniversary as Xi warns ‘no force can shake great nation’

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New weapons make public debut in sweeping military parade, but Hong Kong protests overshadow show of unity

Hong Kong protester shot in chest as demos turn violent - live

China has celebrated 70 years of Communist party rule and its rise to global superpower status with a military parade showcasing the country’s technology, and a promise from President Xi Jinping that “no force can shake the status of this great nation”.

But huge and violent protests in Hong Kongcast a long shadow over Beijing’s carefully-choreographed projection of national unity and power.

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China marks 70th anniversary with military parade – video

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The 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China has been marked with a huge military parade showcasing new weapons technology – including nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles and supersonic drones. 

President Xi Jinping and other leaders stood on the Tiananmen rostrum overlooking the packed square. During a speech, Xi declared that 'no force can shake this great nation'. He also said he was committed to a 'peaceful reunification and one country, two systems' for Hong Kong and Macau, and 'peace' and 'reunification' with Taiwan

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Indonesia cancels Komodo island closure, saying tourists are no threat to dragons

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U-turn announced after environment minister said populations of the ancient lizard remained stable despite influx of visitors

Indonesian authorities have cancelled plans to close Komodo island to tourists, with the country’s environment ministry saying that Komodo dragons living there are not under threat from over-tourism.

In July, authorities in East Nusa Tenggara province said that the island would be closed for one year from January 2020 to stop tourists interfering with the natural behaviour of the largest species of lizard on earth. On Monday Siti Nurbaya Bakar, Indonesia’s environment and forestry minister, said the move was off.

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Foreigners filmed by state TV praising China ahead of anniversary

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Videos released on eve of 70th anniversary festivities feature Americans and Canadians

The Chinese state broadcaster has released videos of foreign nationals praising the country on the eve of celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, as research showed worsening perceptions in many western countries.

The videos posted over the weekend show foreign citizens, identified by country, singing patriotic ballads and praising China’s culture and development. “I love you China … I love your homegrown sugar cane, that quenches my heart like milk,” sing participants, who include Canadians, Germans and Americans, in a video filmed in the eastern city of Nanjing.

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Chinese man on the run for 17 years found in cave by police drone

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Song Moujiang, jailed for people trafficking, escaped prison in 2002

Chinese police reportedly used drones to track down a convicted human trafficker who had been on the run for 17 years and was living in a cave.

Song Moujiang, 63, who was jailed for trafficking women and children, had evaded police capture after escaping a prison camp, Yilaochang Farm in Sichuan province, in March 2002, the BBC reported.

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Face of China: the retro appeal of Chairman Mao – in pictures

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Many in China may prefer to forget the chaotic and bloody decades under the rule of Chairman Mao Zedong, but 70 years after he founded the People’s Republic his face is on memorabilia in shops across the country. The Great Helmsman has had a kitsch makeover, appearing on everything from posters, fans and ornaments to mugs and plates

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Thailand PM considers moving capital as Bangkok congestion takes toll

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Leader Prayut Chan-o-cha may follow in Indonesia’s footsteps after floating idea as a way to tackle overcrowding

Thailand could be the next nation in south-east Asia to relocate its capital after Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha hinted such a move could be a “possibility” under his government.

Taking inspiration from neighbouring Myanmar and similar plans being formulated in Indonesia, the Thai prime minister suggested that relocating the capital could help Bangkok overcome its mounting urban challenges.

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New Zealand’s airspace shuts down after fire alarm in radar centre

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Planes briefly grounded across the country over ‘fault with main air traffic system’

A fire alarm in New Zealand’s radar centre effectively shut down the country’s airspace, halting planes from taking off for a short time on Monday afternoon.

Planes were stranded on the tarmac and landings were being “managed” by Airways NZ after the country’s navigation service provider confirmed “a fault with our main air traffic system”.

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‘They don’t understand Hong Kong’: clash of ideologies looms on China’s 70th anniversary

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Chinese officials blame unrest on issues such as housing or unemployment, but the problems go much deeper than that

When Chinese president Xi Jinping warned his Communist party cadres against the threats of “black swans” and “grey rhinoceroses” in January, there was little sign of what would lie ahead.

The millions-strong protests in Hong Kong in recent months, sparked by a controversial extradition law, have morphed into an unprecedented political storm that has blown up in the faces of Hong Kong and Chinese leaders.

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‘We have to get along’: Japan’s Korean residents at sharp end of diplomatic row

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Worsening relations between the two countries now affecting trade, security, tourism and day-to-day life

Long lunchtime queues form outside restaurants serving samgyeopsal (barbecued pork belly) and sundubu jjigae (a tofu stew). Groups of teenage girls brave the drizzle and eat Korean-style hotdogs on street corners after shopping for cosmetics and K-pop merchandise.

This is not Seoul, but Shin-Ōkubo, a little slice of Korea in central Tokyo. It is home to a large ethnic Korean community, some the descendants of people at the heart of a dispute between Japan and South Korea that local business owners fear is turning them into collateral victims.

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Police fire teargas and pepper spray as Hong Kong protests continue

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Riot officers confront crowds gathered in Causeway Bay shopping district

Hong Kong police have used teargas and pepper spray on thousands of protesters as demonstrations enter the 17th week in the city’s most serious political crisis in decades.

The protest, which was not sanctioned by police, was scheduled to start at 3pm local time (0800 BST) in the Causeway Bay shopping district, but dozens of riot police began guarding the area hours before. They stopped and searched a number of young people dressed in black.

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Australia’s relationship with China in a ‘terrible’ state after Morrison’s US visit, Labor says

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Richard Marles accuses PM of taking ‘pot shots against our largest trading partner’ amid US-China tensions

Labor’s shadow defence minister, Richard Marles, says Australia’s relationship with China is in a “terrible” state following Scott Morrison’s visit to the United States.

Speaking fresh from a visit to Beijing, Marles said that Morrison’s “megaphone diplomacy” alongside Donald Trump about China’s status as a developing country had inflamed tensions.

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Teargas and water cannon fired at Hong Kong protesters – video

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Teargas and water cannon was fired at Hong Kong protesters by police during a large rally marking the fifth anniversary of the umbrella protests on Saturday 28.

Earlier in the day, activists put posters and banners on the 'Lennon wall' a series of messages through the city calling for democracy 

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‘Hong Kong can’t go back to normal’: protesters keep Umbrella spirit alive

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Police fire teargas at rally marking five-year anniversary of pro-democracy movement

Large numbers of police were on the streets of Hong Kong on Saturday night as officers conducted stop and searches on public transit lines and questioned residents wearing black, the colour adopted by protesters, after a mass rally dispersed to mark the fifth anniversary of the pro-democracy “umbrella movement”.

Protesters changed into civilian clothes in alleys and behind walls of umbrellas in districts close to government headquarters, where earlier police fired a water cannon filled with dye and abrasive liquid from behind defensive barriers.

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Sailing trio voice relief after P&O cruise ship rescue in South Pacific

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Seasoned sailors were picked up after their boat sank off the coast of New Caledonia

Three sailors who were rescued by a cruise ship when their yacht went down in the Pacific Ocean say they are relieved to have made it back to dry land.

Seasoned Newcastle sailors Chris Doran, his cousin Kevin Doran and Ben Johnson, from Vanuatu, had spent months in the South Pacific and were headed back to Queensland when their boat, Liberty, struck a discarded mooring line about 5.30am on Thursday and began to sink.

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‘I feel like I’m dying’: West Papua witnesses recount horror of police shootings

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Number of dead may be higher than official death toll and unrest in Wamena may have claimed as many as 41 lives

Witnesses to Monday’s deadly riots in West Papua claim Indonesian police gunned down Papuan students in the street during the unrest, and say Wamena has since become a militarised ghost town.

Witness testimony from Wamena, the largest town in Papua’s remote Baliem Valley, run in stark contrast to the Indonesian authorities’ official account.

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Yang Hengjun: detained blogger is being shackled in chains and interrogated

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Sources describe concerning treatment akin to ‘a convicted criminal awaiting execution’

The Australian political blogger and novelist, Yang Hengjun, is being shackled in chains and interrogated inside a Beijing detention centre, and told by authorities he could face the death penalty for espionage.

Detained in China since January, Yang continues to protest his innocence to authorities and says he can clear his name if he is able to speak with senior officials in the Chinese government.

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Philippines’ war on drugs fuels attacks on land defenders – report

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Study shows martial law in an island territory is also being used as pretext for violence

President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs and declaration of martial law in an island territory are being used as a pretext to attack people defending their land and environment in the Philippines, new research shows.

The resource-rich archipelago in south-east Asia is the world’s most murderous country for people who oppose logging, destructive mining and corrupt agribusiness. At least 30 people were killed in the Philippines last year, following 48 in 2017, dislodging Brazil from the top spot for the first time since the independent watchdog Global Witness began monitoring in 2012.

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Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam faces public anger in ‘dialogue session’

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Openly critical audience call for independent inquiry into police brutality and handling of pro-democracy protests

Hong Kong’s embattled leader has endured a barrage of criticism at a town hall meeting that laid bare anger coursing through the city after months of huge, sometimes violent pro-democracy protests.

Carrie Lam faced more than two hours of grilling at a public “dialogue session” on Thursday night, the first time her pro-Beijing administration has sat down with its critics in 16 consecutive weeks of unrest.

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