Liu Xiaoming issues stark warning to protesters in Hong Kong, saying Beijing is prepared to 'quell any unrest swiftly' if demonstrations continue. 'Their moves are severe and violent offences, and already show signs of terrorism,' Liu said
Continue reading...Category Archives: Asia Pacific
Shanghai’s ostracised skateboarders – in pictures
Skateboarding will debut in the Tokyo Olympics next year. Despite this, those who are part of a growing scene in Shanghai, China, complain of being labelled troublemakers
Continue reading...Nora Quoirin died of starvation after week in jungle, investigators believe
Police say no evidence of kidnapping in case of London teenager who disappeared from eco-resort on 3 August
The autopsy of Nora Quoirin, the 15-year-old who went missing in the Malaysian jungle, has concluded that she likely died of starvation and stress after spending seven days in the jungle.
Speaking outside the police headquarters in Seremban, Negri Sembilan police chief Mohammad Mat Yusop said Nora had died “two to three days ago” from internal bleeding in her intestine, possibly caused by “prolonged starvation or stress”.
Continue reading...Australia removes climate ‘crisis’ from Pacific islands draft declaration
Sources say Canberra has softened language, getting rid of all but one reference to coal
Australia has succeeded in removing all but one reference to coal on the draft communique of the Pacific Islands Forum, and is expected to be able to get that removed on Thursday as Pacific leaders including Scott Morrison meet to debate the text.
Sources familiar with the negotiations on the communique, which is used for regional policy making, told Guardian Australia that Australia has been working hard during negotiations to soften the language on climate change and has succeeded in many mentions.
Continue reading...Satellite photos show Chinese armoured vehicles on border of Hong Kong
Paramilitary police personnel carriers appear to be parked in Shenzhen sports stadium
Satellite photos show what appear to be armoured personnel carriers and other vehicles belonging to the China’s paramilitary People’s Armed police parked in a sports stadium in the city of Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, which some have interpreted as Beijing threatening increased force against pro-democracy protesters.
The pictures collected on Monday by Maxar’s WorldView show more than 100 vehicles sitting on and around the soccer stadium at the Shenzhen Bay sports centre just across the harbour from the Asian financial hub that has been rocked by more than two months of near-daily street demonstrations.
Continue reading...Hong Kong: flights resume at airport as China condemns ‘near-terrorist acts’
Beijing steps up war of words and airport obtains injunction against protesters to prevent further disruption of flights
Flights have resumed in and out of Hong Kong airport after two days of protests by pro-democracy activists as Chinese officials condemned the disruption that paralysed the international hub as “near-terrorist acts”.
Hundreds of flights were cancelled on Tuesday after demonstrators blockaded two terminals in the latest escalation of a 10-week political crisis that has gripped the city.
Continue reading...‘It brings everything back’: Christchurch despairs over white supremacist attacks
Fresh atrocities in El Paso and Norway bring back the pain of New Zealand’s worst mass-shooting
It’s just gone lunch time at al Noor mosque in central Christchurch and a handful of men gather to pray. They bend down on a thick blue carpet, newly installed, and sit up to face walls gleaming with fresh plaster and paint. In the corner, one young man appears to be quietly crying.
“We’ve replaced everything, everything,” says worshipper Murray Stirling, 52, gesturing around the main prayer room, now serene and bathed in winter sunshine. “There’s no physical trace left of what he did to us.”
Continue reading...Uighur man held after leaking letters from Xinjiang camp inmates, says family
Abdurahman Memet believed notes from his parents and brother were proof they had been imprisoned in Chinese ‘re-education’ centres
A Uighur man who leaked letters from inmates at China’s secretive internment camps in Xinjiang has been detained, according to activists and relatives.
Abdurahman Memet, 30, a tour guide in Turpan, last year received letters from his parents and brother, written from inside detention centres in the far western region where as many as 1.5 million Muslims are believed to be detained in political “re-education” and other camps.
Continue reading...Hong Kong: airport protests descend into violence – video report
Mass protests at Hong Kong's international airport descended into chaos as riot police used pepper spray and batons in an attempt to disperse the thousands of demonstrators who had grounded flights for a second consecutive day.
Continue reading...China flaunts military muscle as it seeks to quell Hong Kong’s ‘colour revolution’
Beijing’s rhetoric escalating alongside video of troop carriers at border, yet experts say deployment a last resort
The messages from Beijing to protesters in Hong Kong are increasingly ominous. First there was propaganda footage of Chinese soldiers garrisoned in Hong Kong drilling for intense urban fighting that looked more like a civil war than search and rescue or crowd control.
Now footage has emerged of armoured paramilitary vehicles massing across the border. Two months into demonstrations sparked by a controversial extradition law, official rhetoric from Beijing has escalated too. Authorities recently denounced protests as “terrorist acts”, promised an “iron fist” response and, perhaps most alarmingly, described the movement as a “colour revolution”.
Continue reading...UK should give British nationality to Hong Kong citizens, Tugendhat says
Move would be to reassure Hong Kong’s people rather than facing down Chinese threats, he says
The UK should give Hong Kong citizens full UK nationality as a means of reassurance amid the current standoff with Beijing, the chair of the influential Commons foreign affairs committee has argued.
Tom Tugendhat said this should have happened to people in the formerly British-ruled territory in 1997, when it was handed back to Chinese control, and that doing so now would reassure Hong Kong’s people that they were supported by the UK.
Continue reading...Hong Kong protesters stage new rally at airport – video
Hundreds stage a new rally at Hong Kong's airport, a day after a huge demonstration there triggered a shutdown
Continue reading...Hong Kong protests: airport suspends flights for second day
Hundreds of demonstrators stage new rally a day after shutdown at key transport hub
Hong Kong’s airport authority has suspended flights for a second day as thousands of protesters staged another rally at the busy international travel hub.
Tuesday’s action marked the fifth consecutive day of protests at the airport, as pro-democracy demonstrations in the Chinese territory entered their 10th week, with both sides showing few signs of backing down.
Continue reading...China releases video showing troop carriers moving to Hong Kong border – video
State media outlets videos with a rousing choral soundtrack show armoured troop carriers purportedly driving to Shenzhen, the south-eastern state that borders Hong Kong. Chinese officials have released a series of threatening statements about Hong Kong's protesters, with one claiming 'terrorism' was emerging in the city on Monday after flights were cancelled
Continue reading...Nora Quoirin: body found in Malaysia confirmed as missing girl
Postmortem examination to determine whether further police investigation needed
A postmortem examination will be carried out to determine the cause of death of Nora Quoirin, 15, whose body has been found in the Malaysian jungle.
The London girl’s body was discovered on Tuesday by a local team of hikers just over a mile from the resort where she had been on holiday with her family. The find brought to an end a 10-day search which had involved more than 350 volunteers and drawn offers of support from around the world.
Continue reading...China’s conduct in Hong Kong comes under cautious scrutiny on Q&A
Panellists debate whether Australia ‘turning a blind eye’ to China’s rising power
As demonstrators shut down Hong Kong’s airport on Monday in protest against police brutality, Chinese official said “terrorism” was emerging in the city.
Meanwhile, on the ABC’s Q&A program, the “people’s panellist” guest suggested he shared China’s view, prompting one of the more cautious political discussions ever held on the show.
Continue reading...‘Our hearts are breaking’: missing Nora Quoirin’s mother appeals for information – video
Nora Quoirin’s mother has appealed to the public for information as the search for the missing 15-year-old British girl continues in Malaysia. A £10,000 reward has been offered to help find the vulnerable teenager who disappeared from her bedroom at a nature resort on 4 August. The sum was donated by an anonymous Belfast-based business, Meabh Quoirin said. Speaking of her daughter, she added: ‘She is so precious to us and our hearts are breaking’
Continue reading...Powerful typhoon sweeps away buildings in eastern China – video
Heavy rain swept through eastern China after Typhoon Lekima made landfall in the coastal province of Zhejiang on Saturday. The powerful storm left a trail of destruction after a landslide backed up a river that broke through debris and inundated homes. The death toll from Lekima rose to 44 on Monday morning, according to state media
Continue reading...Closure of Hong Kong airport shines fresh light on protest movement
Disruption on Monday stopped flights to UK, US and Australia and will be felt worldwide
The closure of Hong Kong international airport has shone a fresh global spotlight on the city’s protest movement.
The airport was forced to cancel all remaining passenger flights on Monday – more than 100 – after thousands of demonstrators flooded into the main terminal during the afternoon. The disruption will be felt worldwide, with cancellations including long-haul departures to the US, Australia and the UK.
Continue reading...Violence in Hong Kong intensifies as protests enter 10th week – video report
Pro-democracy street protests in Hong Kong stretched into their 10th week with no sign of either side backing down. Clashes with police were particularly serious on Sunday night compared with previous days, as riot officers fired teargas into a railway station to disperse crowds and were captured on film beating protesters with batons as they fled down an escalator in another station. Rights groups and democracy activists have accused police in Hong Kong of using excessive force
- Hong Kong airport authority cancels flights over protests
- Hong Kong protests: brutal undercover police tactics spark outcry