Ronson Chan was preparing for stint in UK before being arrested for allegedly obstructing a police officer
The head of Hong Kong’s journalist union has been arrested, weeks before he was due to leave for an overseas fellowship at Oxford University.
Ronson Chan, the chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA), was arrested for allegedly obstructing a police officer and disorderly conduct in a public place.
Continue reading...Books depicted sheep fleeing from invading wolves, which judge found aimed to incite hatred against China
A court in Hong Kong has convicted five speech therapists of producing “seditious publications” in the form of a series of illustrated children’s books that depicted sheep trying to defend their village from wolves.
The convictions are the latest using a colonial-era sedition offence that authorities have deployed alongside a new national security law to stamp out dissent.
Continue reading...Average temperature in August was 1.2C higher than norm, which caused widespread drought
China recorded its highest temperatures and one of its lowest levels of rainfall in 61 years during a two-month summer heatwave that caused forest fires, damaged crops and hit power supplies, the national meteorological agency said.
The average national temperature in August, 22.4C, was 1.2C higher than the seasonal norm, while average rainfall fell 23% to 82mm, the third lowest since records began in 1961, according to Xiao Chan, the vice-director of China’s national meteorological administration.
Continue reading...Move comes as Biden administration outlines plans to boost domestic production of semiconductors
US technology firms that receive government funding will be banned from building “advanced technology facilities” in China for a decade, the Biden administration has announced, as it outlined plans to increase domestic production of semiconductors.
The requirements come under the US government’s near-$53bn (£46bn) plan to scale up manufacturing of semiconductor chips – the “brain” in every electronic device from cars to household appliances – which are predominantly produced in Asia.
Continue reading...Xiao Qian says Canberra and Beijing have ‘good momentum but we need to keep the momentum’
China’s ambassador to Australia has suggested the leaders of the two countries might meet without “preconditions” in remarks that could help further thaw relations.
Xiao Qian on Tuesday night also offered to help detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei contact her family.
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Continue reading...Offices, schools and shops to close before congress at which Xi expected to get third presidential term
China has intensified its efforts to rein in outbreaks of Covid-19 ahead of a major political meeting by placing about 65 million people under semi-lockdown, according to local media reports.
The Chinese Communist party will begin its 20th congress on 16 October, with party chief Xi Jinping widely expected to be reinstated as president for a third term.
Continue reading...Deadly quake in Sichuan leaves at least 46 dead, and was also felt in provincial capital where millions are confined to their homes
At least 46 people have been killed in a strong earthquake that struck south-western China and was felt by millions of people confined to their homes under a strict Covid lockdown in Chengdu.
The 6.6-magnitude quake hit about 26 miles (43km) south-east of the city of Kangding at a depth of about six miles, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
Continue reading...Human Rights Watch claims new evidence of a systemic DNA collection drive across Tibet as part of a ‘crime detection’ program
Chinese authorities have been gathering DNA samples across Tibet, including from kindergarten children without the apparent consent of their parents, Human Rights Watch has said.
In a new report released on Monday, the rights organisation claimed new evidence showing a systematic DNA collection drive for entire populations across Tibet as part of a “crime detection” drive.
Continue reading...Boost to Taiwanese air defences forms biggest part of deal amid heightened tensions after Beijing’s enhanced military drills around island
The Biden administration has announced a $1.1bn arms sale to Taiwan as US-China tensions escalate over its status.
The sale included $355m for Harpoon air-to-sea missiles and $85m for Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, the state department said.
Continue reading...Gerry Brownlee says report on human rights violations in Xinjiang recognises China is ‘dealing with a terrorist problem’
New Zealand’s shadow foreign affairs spokesperson said a UN report on the human rights abuses of Uyghurs includes recognition that China is “dealing with a terrorist problem essentially”, in remarks criticised by China analysts.
“It’s good that it acknowledges that there has been a terrorism problem in the particular part of China that the report is on,” Gerry Brownlee, a lawmaker for the centre-right National party, told Radio New Zealand (RNZ) on Thursday in an interview about the UN findings.
Continue reading...Strongest tropical storm of the year also forecast to hit China’s mainland this weekend after winds reach 160mph
Destruction is imminent across southern Japan and South Korea as super typhoon Hinnamnor barrels northwards through the East China Sea this weekend.
The typhoon is so far the strongest tropical storm of the 2022 hurricane season and developed gradually this week out in the Pacific, edging towards the Philippines and Taiwan. By Thursday, maximum sustained winds had reached 160mph, leading to classification as a category 5 tropical cyclone, or a super typhoon.
Continue reading...Robert Tsao, a microchip entrepreneur, pledges $32m to train and equip civil defence force to combat threat of Chinese attack
A Taiwanese tycoon has announced his plan to train 3.3 million “civilian warriors” and marksmen to defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion, using one billion Taiwan dollars ($32m) of his own money.
The announcement by Robert Tsao, a well-known Taiwanese businessman and founder of United Microelectronics Corp, a major microchip producer, comes amid increasing military activity between Taiwan and China. On Thursday Taiwan’s defence ministry announced its soldiers had shot down a Chinese drone over Taiwan’s Kinmen islands.
Continue reading...Sir Geoffrey Nice QC says outgoing human rights chief’s report on China makes it easier for international community to do nothing
The UN’s failure to mention the word genocide in its report alleging serious human rights violations by China against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang province is an “astonishing” lapse, according to a leading British human rights lawyer.
The 45-page report from the outgoing UN human rights commissioner, Michelle Bachelet, landed minutes before her term ended on Wednesday, outlining allegations of torture, including forced medical procedures, as well as sexual violence against Uyghur Muslims.
Continue reading...Authorities impose sweeping restrictions as China holds fast to zero-Covid policy
About 21 million people in the Chinese city of Chengdu have gone into lockdown as authorities raced to snuff out a new Covid-19 outbreak.
China is the last major economy wedded to a zero-Covid policy, stamping out virus flare-ups with snap shutdowns, mass testing and lengthy quarantines.
Continue reading...Damning report cites human rights violations against Uyghur Muslims in north-west Chinese province
China has committed “serious human rights violations” against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang province which may amount to crimes against humanity, the outgoing UN human rights commissioner has said in a long-awaited and damning report.
Continue reading...Governments urged to launch formal investigations after UN findings on treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang
Governments around the world should establish formal independent investigations into human rights abuses in Xinjiang, victims and human rights groups have said, after the 11th-hour release of a long-awaited UN report.
The report by the UN office of the high commissioner for human rights (OHCHR) was published minutes before Michelle Bachelet ended her tenure.
Continue reading...Funding still needs to be approved but could offer breathing space amid country’s economic turmoil
The International Monetary Fund has tentatively offered Sri Lanka a $2.9bn (£2.5bn) loan to help the country recover from the worst economic crisis since it gained independence from Britain in 1948.
The funding is meant to provide some breathing space for Sri Lanka, which is scrambling to restructure nearly $30bn in debt to creditors including China, India and a string of international banks.
Continue reading...Action near islet comes after Taipei vowed to take tough measures to deal with increase in such intrusions
Taiwan’s military has shot down for the first time an unidentified civilian drone that entered its airspace near an islet off the Chinese coast, after the government vowed to take tough measures to deal with an increase in such intrusions.
Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own against the objections of the Taipei government, has held military exercises around the island since early last month in reaction to a visit to Taipei by the US House of Representatives speaker, Nancy Pelosi.
Continue reading...Ban on Nvidia and AMD sales marks a major escalation of US efforts to restrict China’s military technology capabilities as tensions bubble over Taiwan
Chip designer Nvidia said that US officials told it to stop exporting two top computing chips for artificial intelligence work to China, a move that could cripple Chinese firms’ ability to carry out advanced work like image recognition.
The company on Wednesday said the ban, which affects its A100 and H100 chips designed to speed up machine learning tasks, could interfere with completion of developing the H100, the flagship chip Nvidia announced this year.
Continue reading...Analysts say announcement of a date for gathering suggests any in-party disputes have been reined in
The announcement of a Communist party meeting that is expected to cement Xi Jinping’s agenda for the coming years shows the strength of Xi’s “ultimate authority”, analysts have said.
The CCP’s twice-a-decade meeting will begin on 16 October and is likely to run for several days. Xi, considered the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, is expected to further consolidate his political power, which he has wielded with increasing authoritarianism since taking charge of the party in late 2012.
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