Category Archives: Asia Pacific

China’s human rights record criticised at UN as it faces rare scrutiny of policies

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UK, US and others use universal periodic review to speak out over Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong

The UK, the US and several other countries criticised China’s human rights record on Tuesday as the country was subjected to rare scrutiny of its policies at the United Nations.

The UK called on China to “cease the persecution and arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and Tibetans and allow genuine freedom of religion or belief and cultural expression without fear of surveillance, torture, forced labour or sexual violence”, while the US said China should “release all arbitrarily detained individuals” and cease the operation of “forcible assimilation policies including boarding schools in Tibet and Xinjiang”.

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Powerful earthquake hits China-Kyrgyzstan border

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Authorities warn of potentially widespread damage after the 7.0-magnitude quake, with tremors felt in neighbouring countries

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake has struck along the China-Kyrgyzstan border, as authorities warned of potentially widespread damage.

The China Earthquake Networks Center said the quake hit Wushu county in Aksu prefecture shortly after 2am local time, according to the state-run Xinhua press agency and about 200 rescuers were dispatched to the epicenter.

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Australia urged to quash convictions of all Indonesian children jailed as adult people smugglers

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Exclusive: Leader of successful class action says government should ‘step in to overturn the convictions’, amid calls for a formal apology

The Indonesian fisher who led the challenge against Australia’s unlawful detention of hundreds of children found on people-smuggling boats has urged the government to help quash all remaining convictions linked to the scandal.

The federal government relied on a deeply flawed age assessment technique – interpretations of wrist X-rays – to detain hundreds of Indonesian children found crewing people-smuggling boats in 2009 and the early 2010s.

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China landslide kills eight and buries dozens in Yunnan province

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Preliminary investigations show 47 people missing in mountainous region, state broadcaster reports

Forty-seven people were buried in a landslide, with eight reported dead, in south-western Yunnan province, Chinese state media reported.

China Central Television said on Monday that about 18 households were buried, and more than 200 people evacuated.

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Philippines president sparks outcry for using presidential helicopter to see Coldplay concert

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Ferdinand Marcos Jr was flown in because concert-goers created ‘unforeseen traffic complications’, bodyguards say

Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr has been criticised for using a presidential helicopter to attend a Coldplay concert north of the capital Manila, bypassing the area’s notorious traffic jams.

On social media, many accused the president of wasting taxpayers’ money, and pointed out that the public has to endure Metro Manila’s infamous traffic daily while commuting.

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UK sends UN experts photographs of North Korean shipments to Russia

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Exclusive: Report shows Russian ships loading at North Korean port, amid accusation that Pyongyang supplies missiles and shells

The UK has provided satellite photographs of North Korean cargo shipments to Russia to a panel of UN experts as part of an attempt to trigger an official investigation into arms deals in violation of international sanctions.

North Korea has been accused of supplying ballistic missiles and hundreds of thousands of artillery shells to the Russian government for its war in Ukraine since Vladimir Putin met with Kim Jong-un in Russia’s far east in September.

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Child among asylum seekers returned to country of origin after being sent from Australia to Nauru

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Home affairs department confirms eight of the 11 people flown to island nation in September have since returned home

Eight of the 11 asylum seekers taken to Nauru in September – including a woman and child – have returned to their country of origin.

In October Guardian Australia revealed the transfer, the first by Australia to the regional processing centre in nine years, which occurred just months after the last asylum seekers were removed from the Pacific nation.

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Thirteen children die in Chinese boarding school fire

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Fire broke out in dormitories of primary school in central Henan province

Thirteen pupils have died after a fire broke out in dormitories at a primary school in central Henan province, Chinese state media have reported.

A teacher at the school told the state-run Hebei Daily that all the victims were from the same third-grade class of nine- and 10-year-olds.

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South Korea crowd crush: Seoul police chief charged over Halloween disaster in which 158 died

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Kim Kwang-ho accused of negligence in failing to ‘take necessary measures’ to prevent 2022 disaster in capital’s Itaewon nightlife district

Seoul’s chief of police has been charged with professional negligence over the deadly Halloween crush in 2022 that killed nearly 160 people, prosecutors in the South Korean capital have said.

Kim Kwang-ho, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA), was charged with professional negligence resulting in injury or death, Seoul’s western district prosecutors’ office said in a statement released on Friday.

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Japan’s ‘Moon Sniper’ craft makes lunar landing but is unable to generate electricity via solar power – as it happened

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Slim spacecraft landed on the moon and is communicating with earth but is not generating electricity

(I’m really enjoying the soft piano music being played in the background of this Japanese space agency live feed. Very calming in a tense situation!)

The probe is now “scanning the surface” and looking for a place to land, space agency officials say.

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North Korean teens get 12 years’ hard labour for watching South Korean videos

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Footage shows two 16-year-olds being sentenced in front of hundreds of their peers in an amphitheatre

Video footage released by an organisation that works with North Korean defectors shows North Korean authorities publicly sentencing two teenagers to 12 years’ hard labour for watching South Korean videos.

The footage, which shows the two 16-year-olds in Pyongyang convicted of watching South Korean films and music videos, was released by the South and North Development Institute (Sand).

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‘The pigs have disappeared’: swine fever threatens food source for millions as disease hits wild herds

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Scientists call for urgent intervention, as bearded pig populations are devastated by the deadly virus on islands such as Borneo

Populations of wild pigs are crashing due to the spread of African swine fever (ASF), threatening the livelihoods of millions who depend on them for food, researchers warn.

With a fatality rate of almost 100%, ASF has swept across Asia, Europe and Africa, devastating domestic and wild pig populations over the past 10 to 20 years. The impacts are especially significant in Borneo, in south-east Asia, where bearded pig numbers have declined by between 90% and 100% since it arrived on the island in 2021, researchers said.

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North Korean defectors to South tripled in 2023, Seoul says

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South Korea says backgrounds of recent defectors including some ‘elite class’ indicate growing discontent with regime of Kim Jong-un

The number of North Koreans who defected to South Korea tripled last year, as the easing of border closures imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic encouraged students, women and diplomats to make the perilous journey.

At 196, the number was still well below the pre-pandemic average, but South Korean authorities said the backgrounds of many recent defectors pointed to growing discontent with the regime of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.

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Man jailed for record 50 years for criticising Thai monarchy

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Mongkol Thirakot receives record sentence under kingdom’s strict lese-majesty laws for posts on personal Facebook account

A Thai man has been given a 50-year prison sentence for criticising the monarchy – the longest jail term handed down under the kingdom’s strict lese-majesty laws – a legal rights group said.

The record-breaking sentence comes after several years in which Thailand has ramped up use of the legislation against pro-democracy protesters in what critics say is a tactic to silence dissent.

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Japan’s ‘moon sniper’ lander heads for touchdown on lunar surface

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If all goes to plan, Jaxa’s lander will make Japan the fifth country ever to land on the moon

Japan is on final approach to become only the fifth country to land on the moon, in what would be a reversal of fortunes as it attempts to join a global space race centred on unravelling the mysteries of the lunar landscape.

If all goes to plan, the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (Slim) will begin its descent to the rocky lunar surface at midnight on Friday (1500 GMT) before touching down about 20 minutes later, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa).

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China’s muted reaction to Taiwan’s election result may signal a waiting game

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Taiwan says China has launched significant joint air and sea patrols, but analysts say Beijing’s reaction to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s election win has so far been relatively quiet

China conducted joint combat patrols around Taiwan on Wednesday, in a potential resumption of military intimidation after Taiwan’s presidential election last weekend. But analysts say the reaction from China’s ruling Communist party has been relatively muted so far, despite the success of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive party (DPP) – which Beijing loathes as “separatists” – in retaining the presidency.

On Thursday morning Taiwan’s defence ministry reported the People’s Liberation Army had sent 24 planes and five navy vessels into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone in the previous 24 hours, the first incursion of significant size since November. The air and sea craft conducted joint patrols including crossing the unofficial maritime border, the median line, it said.

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US woman jailed for 26 years over mother’s suitcase murder in Bali

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Heather Mack, 28, pleaded guilty to helping boyfriend kill Sheila Wiese-Mack in 2014 to gain access to $1.5m trust fund

An American woman who pleaded guilty to helping kill her own mother and stuffing the body in a suitcase during a luxury vacation in Bali has been sentenced to 26 years in prison.

Judge Matthew Kennelly gave Mack credit for the approximately two years she spent in custody in Chicago awaiting trial since her return to the US in 2021. Mack’s attorney Michael Leonard said her formal sentence will be about 23 years total.

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Uniqlo sues Shein over ‘imitation’ banana-shaped ‘it’ bag

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Petition demands online retailer stop immediate sale of bags and compensation for damages incurred

Uniqlo is suing the Chinese online retailer Shein over the sale of items it claims copy its popular banana-shaped ‘it’ bag, the “round mini”.

The petition demands that Shein immediately stops the sale of “the imitation products” and pays compensation for damages incurred as a result of their sale. It was filed last month in the Tokyo district court against the fast-growing business’s parent groups Roadget and Fashion Choice, as well as Shein Japan.

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China lodges protests at Australia’s response to Taiwan’s presidential election

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Ambassador says there is ‘no room at all’ for compromise on ‘sensitive’ issue, and offers gloomy assessment on prospects for release of writer Dr Yang Hengjun

China has lodged diplomatic protests with Australia for congratulating the winner of Taiwan’s presidential election, with the Chinese ambassador warning there is “no room at all” for compromise on the “sensitive” issue.

China’s top envoy in Australia, Xiao Qian, also dashed hopes that the Australian writer Dr Yang Hengjun might be released from custody in a similar manner to the Australian journalist Cheng Lei last year.

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Japan’s salarymen opt for ultra-cheap lunches as food prices continue to rise

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Higher costs as a result of Ukraine war, supply chain issues and effects of Covid force lunching office workers to tighten belts

Even in a city of tens of thousands of restaurants, including a large number with Michelin stars, is it really possible in Tokyo to spend as little as ¥500 (£2.60) a day on lunch without eating the same modest meal day in, day out?

The answer, according to increasingly cash-strapped office workers in the Japanese capital, is a resounding yes.

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