Category Archives: Asia Pacific

James K Baxter: venerated poet’s letters about marital rape rock New Zealand

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Collection of writings just released includes references to rape of then-wife Jackie Sturm, herself an acclaimed poet and author

A new collection of letters from one of New Zealand’s most significant poets, James K Baxter, that includes a blunt admission of marital rape is causing shockwaves through the literary community.

Baxter died in Auckland in 1972 but remains one of New Zealand’s literary giants. He achieved international attention in the late 1950s after Oxford University Press published his poetry collection, In Fires Of No Return.

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Sweden investigates its Beijing ambassador over ‘strange’ meetings

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Daughter of Swedish bookseller jailed in China says Anna Lindstedt set up meetings in Stockholm

Sweden is investigating its ambassador to China after she was accused of orchestrating a bizarre series of meetings between the daughter of a Swedish bookseller jailed in China and businessmen who said they could help secure his release.

The story is detailed in a blogpost by Angela Gui, the daughter of Gui Minhai, a Chinese-born Swedish bookseller who has disappeared twice and is currently held in Chinese custody.

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Same-sex couples in Japan launch Valentine’s Day bid for marriage equality

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Five lesbian and eight gay couples seek damages from government for denying them same rights as heterosexual spouses

Chizuka Oe and Yoko Ogawa have been together for 25 years, but when they submitted their marriage registration at a Tokyo town hall they knew it would be rejected.

“We were told that they cannot accept our registration because we are both women,” said Ogawa, standing in the winter sun outside the building in Nakano in western Tokyo.

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Maria Ressa: editor of Rappler news website arrested on ‘cyber-libel’ charges

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Philippines president Duterte government accused of shameless persecution

The editor of an online newspaper in the Philippines has been arrested on charges of cyber-libel as part of what the country’s journalists’ union said was a campaign of intimidation against voices critical of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Speaking from the headquarters of news website Rappler on Wednesday before she was taken away by four plainclothes officers, Maria Ressa said she was not intimidated. “These legal acrobatics show how far the government will go to silence journalists, including the pettiness of forcing me to spend the night in jail,” she added.

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Thailand election: princess apologises as future of Thai Raksa party in doubt

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King’s sister says she is sorry for causing ‘problems’ as authorities recommend dissolution of her party

The political turbulence in Thailand has continued to escalate in the build-up to the election, with a political party likely to be forcibly dissolved, the military suspending a critical TV station and the king’s sister apologising after she was disqualified from running for prime minister.

The latest incident in a week that has stunned Thailand, saw the election commission recommend the Thai Raksa Chart party be dissolved by the constitutional court, preventing it from running in the election, for violating the rules of a constitutional monarchy. The constitutional court is expected to approve the election commission’s request.

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Taiji dolphin hunt: activists to launch unprecedented legal challenge

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Exclusive: lawsuit in Japan contends that dolphins are wrongly classified as fish and should be protected as mammals

Animal rights activists have launched an unprecedented legal challenge to the slaughter of dolphins in Japan, claiming that fishermen are routinely violating animal welfare laws and exceeding government-set quotas.

The London-based organisation Action for Dolphins and the Japanese NGO Life Investigation Agency on Wednesday submitted evidence they hope will halt the annual dolphin hunts in Taiji, a whaling town on Japan’s Pacific coast, the Guardian can reveal.

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Huawei tells New Zealand: banning us is like banning the All Blacks

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Chinese tech company uses full-page ads to push for inclusion in 5G rollout despite concerns it is a security risk

China’s Huawei has taken out full-page ads in major New Zealand newspapers in which they equate the idea of ban on the company to a rugby tournament without the All Blacks.

The advertisement reads: “5G without Huawei is like rugby without New Zealand”, referring to the upcoming nationwide rollout of the mobile technology.

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Craig Foster – the man behind Hakeem al-Araibi’s remarkable release

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Hailed for mobilising the global football family, the SBS commentator now says ‘we are just warming up’

On 7 December, 10 days after the Australian refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi was arrested at Bangkok airport, the former Socceroos captain Craig Foster sent a letter to the president and secretary general of Fifa reminding them that they had a human rights policy.

“I am sure that all in our global football family are delighted that Fifa have committed to the protection of basic human rights across its global football activities,” he wrote.

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‘Napalm girl’ Kim Phuc receives German prize for peace work

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Activist honoured decades after she was photographed fleeing naked in Vietnam war

Kim Phuc, known as the “napalm girl” after a well-known photo of her from the Vietnam war, has received an award in Germany for her work for peace.

Organisers of the Dresden prize say the 55-year-old, who lives in Canada, is being honoured for her support of Unesco and children wounded in war, and for speaking out against violence and hatred. She received €10,000 (£8,800).

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1MDB corruption trial of ex-Malaysian PM postponed, says lawyer

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Najib Razak faces charges related to multibillion-dollar scandal at state fund

The corruption trial of the former Malaysian prime minister, Najib Razak, over charges related to a multibillion-dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB has been postponed, his lawyer said, citing a court ruling.

The trial was originally set to begin on Tuesday.

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China gets its first blockbuster sci-fi film

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Wandering Earth on track to be one of highest-grossing films in country’s history

China has entered the cinematic space race. Wandering Earth, the country’s first blockbuster sci-fi film, is on track to be one of the highest-grossing films in China’s history.

The film has brought in more than 2bn yuan (£232m) in the six days since its release on 5 February, lunar new year. So far, it is the highest-grossing film released over the holiday season, a peak time for the Chinese box office.

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Hakeem al-Araibi on flight to Australia after release in Thailand

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Refugee Bahraini footballer returning to Melbourne after extradition case dropped

The refugee Bahraini footballer Hakeem al-Araibi has boarded a flight to Australia after Thai authorities withdrew an extradition case against him.

Thai authorities said the Bahraini government had decided to end its pursuit of Al-Araibi, who fled Bahrain in 2014 before being granted permanent residence in Australia, where he has lived since.

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China releases video of Uighur poet said to have died in custody

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Beijing releases footage of poet Abdurehim Heyit after Turkey said treatment of Uighurs was an ‘embarrassment’

China has hit back against claims by Turkey that a famous Uighur poet and musician has died while imprisoned in Xinjiang, where Beijing’s severe policies toward the Muslim minority group have prompted international outcry.

Turkey’s foreign ministry said on Saturday it had learned that poet and musician Abdurehim Heyit had died while serving an eight-year prison sentence. In a rare rebuke of China, the ministry said Beijing’s treatment of Uighurs was “a great embarrassment for humanity”.

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Japanese women push back against Valentine’s tradition of ‘obligation chocolate’

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For many, pressure to avoid causing offence by spending thousands of yen on treats for coworkers is becoming intolerable

Japanese women are pushing back against a tradition that dictates they must give chocolates to male colleagues on Valentine’s Day, with growing anger at the practice of “forced giving”.

Until recently, women in the workplace were expected to buy chocolates for their male workmates as part of a tradition called giri choco – literally, obligation chocolates.

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Revealed: 17 Australian residents believed detained in China’s Uighur crackdown

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Exclusive: Activists urge embassy to ‘tell us if they’re alive or dead’ amid claims of inaction by Canberra

Seventeen Australian residents are believed to be under house arrest, in prison or detained in China’s secretive “re-education” centres in Xinjiang, the Guardian can reveal.

The 17 cases – 15 Australian permanent residents and two on spouse visas – have been collected by Nurgul Sawut, an advocate for Uighurs in Australia, through interviews with their family members.

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New Zealand wildfires set to worsen as thousands flee

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Week-long blaze engulfs 2,300ha on South Island, leading to largest aerial firefight in country’s history

Strong winds are expected to fan forest fires that have been burning for a week through New Zealand’s South Island, forcing thousands of people from their homes.

Early on Sunday, 155 firefighters were battling the blaze on the ground with air support from 23 helicopters and three fixed wing planes, making it the largest aerial firefight on record in New Zealand.

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China’s treatment of Uighurs is ’embarrassment for humanity’, says Turkey

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Ankara calls for UN to act on ‘human tragedy’ of re-education of the Turkic-speaking minority in Xinjiang province

Turkey has condemned China’s treatment of its Muslim ethnic Uighur people as “a great embarrassment for humanity”, adding to rights groups’ recent criticism over mass detentions of the Turkic-speaking minority.

“The systematic assimilation policy of Chinese authorities towards Uighur Turks is a great embarrassment for humanity,” Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement.

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Thai king ends princess’s bid to be prime minister

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Popular royal Ubolratana withdraws from election after her candidacy is denounced by her brother, the king

Twenty-four hours of high drama in Thai politics ended abruptly on Saturday when a party that nominated a princess to run for prime minister ended her brief candidacy. The move came after her brother, Thailand’s king, attacked the candidacy as unconstitutional.

The Thai Raksa Chart (Save the Nation) party swore loyalty to King Maha Vajiralongkorn in a statement issued after his late-night intervention. It also expressed gratitude to Princess Ubolratana Mahidol for her kindness toward the party.

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Thailand: princess’s bid for power is over after party withdraws support

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Princess Ubolratana shocked the nation by announcing she would run for PM but party says it will comply with king’s order to block her bid

The bid for political power by Thailand’s Princess Ubolratana has been scuttled by her own party after it announced it would comply with an order from her brother, the king, to block her candidacy.

In a dramatic reversal after she shocked the nation by announcing she would run for prime minister, the Thai Raksa Chart party issued a short statement effectively ending her run.

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Trump says Kim summit will be in Hanoi as envoy hails talks progress

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US president will meet North Korea leader in Vietnamese capital this month amid hopes of breakthrough

Donald Trump has said that US diplomats have had a “very productive meeting” with North Korean officials as he announced his summit later this month with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would be held in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi.

“My representatives have just left North Korea after a very productive meeting and an agreed upon time and date for the second Summit with Kim Jong Un. It will take place in Hanoi, Vietnam, on February 27 & 28,” Trump said on Twitter.

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