Category Archives: China

Canada to ban Huawei and ZTE from 5G network, risking China tensions

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Move brings Ottawa into line with intelligence allies that have excluded Chinese tech firms from cutting-edge phone networks

Canada says it will ban Huawei and ZTE from the country’s 5G network, a move that puts it in line with intelligence-sharing allies, but risks further chilling relations with China.

The federal government made the announcement on Thursday afternoon after signalling for months it intended to block China’s flagship telecommunications companies from accessing 5G networks in Canada.

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US stock markets fall sharply as investors worry about recession

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Dow Jones sinks more than 1,100 points as S&P closes down 4%, its largest fall since June 2020, and Nasdaq loses 4.7%

The wild ride on the US stock markets continued on Wednesday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average sinking more than 1,100 points as investors worried about a looming recession.

All of the major US markets fell sharply, with the S&P closing down 4%, its largest fall since June 2020, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq losing 4.7%.

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US sues casino mogul Steve Wynn to compel him to register as an agent of China

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Justice department says Wynn lobbied the Trump administration for China to protect his business interests in Macau

The US Department of Justice on Tuesday sued Steve Wynn, the billionaire former casino mogul and senior Republican fund raiser, to compel him to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act as an agent of China.

The department said Wynn, 80, had contacted then-US president Donald Trump and members of his Republican administration in 2017 to convey China’s request to cancel the visa of or otherwise remove a Chinese businessperson who had sought political asylum in the United States.

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China air crash that killed 132 may have been deliberate, says US report

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WSJ sources suggest black box recorders from Boeing 737-800 indicate intentional input from cockpit

A China Eastern Airlines plane that crashed in March, killing 132 people, appears to have been intentionally flown into the mountainside below by someone at the controls, according to reports.

Analysis by US officials of the black box flight recorders found amid the wreckage suggests deliberate input from the cockpit forced the Boeing 737-800 plane into its catastrophic dive.

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Beijing’s rhetoric in spotlight as Taiwan condemns California shooting

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Deadly incident renews debate over cross-strait tensions and Beijing’s reunification rhetoric

Taiwan’s president has condemned the deadly shooting at a Taiwanese church in California by a man reportedly driven by hatred of the self-governing island, where debate about cross-strait tensions has intensified along with Beijing’s reunification rhetoric.

Tsai Ing-wen’s office issued a statement saying she condemned “any form of violence” and extended her condolences to those killed and injured, and that she had asked the island’s chief representative in the US to fly to California to provide assistance.

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World’s highest jailing rate found in Uyghur county of China, data leak suggests

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One in 25 people sentenced to prison on terrorism-related charges in Konasheher, Xinjiang province, where Communist party represses Muslim minority

Nearly one in 25 people in a county of the Uyghur heartland of China has been sentenced to prison on terrorism-related charges, in what is the highest known imprisonment rate in the world, an Associated Press review of leaked data shows.

A list obtained and partially verified by the Associated Press cites the names of more than 10,000 Uyghurs sent to prison in just Konasheher county, one of dozens in southern Xinjiang. In recent years, China has waged a brutal crackdown on the Uyghurs, a largely Muslim minority, which it has described as a “war on terror”.

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Shanghai to end Covid lockdown and return to normal life in June amid economic slowdown

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Authorities say restrictions to ease in stages after extended lockdown that has sent shockwaves through Chinese economy and global supply chains

Shanghai has set out plans for the return of more normal life from 1 June and the end of a painful Covid-19 lockdown that has lasted more than six weeks and contributed to a sharp slowdown in China’s economic activity.

In the clearest timetable yet, deputy mayor Zong Ming said on Monday that Shanghai’s reopening would be carried out in stages, with movement curbs largely to remain in place until 21 May to prevent a rebound in infections, before a gradual easing.

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Secret British ‘black propaganda’ campaign targeted cold war enemies

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Britain stirred up tensions, chaos and violence in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, according to declassified papers

The British government ran a secret “black propaganda” campaign for decades, targeting Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia with leaflets and reports from fake sources aimed at destabilising cold war enemies by encouraging racial tensions, sowing chaos, inciting violence and reinforcing anti-communist ideas, newly declassified documents have revealed.

The effort, run from the mid-1950s through to the late 70s by a unit in London that was part of the Foreign Office, was focused on cold war enemies such as the Soviet Union and China, leftwing liberation groups and leaders that the UK saw as threats to its interests

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It’s unprecedented for Dutton to label a Chinese spy ship sailing outside Australia’s territory an ‘act of aggression’ | Daniel Hurst

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International law experts say ‘this is not an act of aggression and is in fact fairly standard activity for navies’

The defence minister, Peter Dutton, has called the presence of a Chinese spy ship off the coast of Western Australia “an aggressive act” but his department was far more sober in its assessment and international law experts have poured cold water on the claim.

It is not the first time such Chinese vessels have been in Australia’s exclusive economic zone. So, given we are a week out from an election and the Coalition wants the narrative refocused through a “we live in uncertain times” lens, let’s put the politics aside and step through the facts.

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Chinese-speaking voters critical of Coalition’s ‘militaristic’ stance on China in lead-up to 2022 election, WeChat study shows

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Labor also faces criticism, but Albanese is gaining ground in news coverage on Chinese social media platform, research finds

The Coalition’s muscular position toward China is not going down well with Chinese-speaking voters, while Labor is facing criticism over its more generous approach to humanitarian immigration, an analysis of WeChat audience comments reveals.

The study of more than 3,000 political news stories and associated comments appearing on the Chinese social media platform, WeChat, has been undertaken by researchers at Monash and Deakin Universities over the past 11 months, including during the election campaign.

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Kevin Rudd attacks ‘idiot’ Peter Dutton over ‘hairy-chested’ comments on China

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Former Labor PM says if China wanted a reset with Australia he ‘could not think of a dumber thing to do’ than the Solomon Islands deal

Kevin Rudd has launched a personal attack on Peter Dutton, labelling the defence minister an “idiot” for believing hairy-chested commentary about China would improve Australia’s strategic circumstances.

The former Australian prime minister also took aim at Beijing, saying that if Chinese officials really wanted a reset in the relationship with Australia he “could not think of a dumber thing to do than what they just did in the Solomons”.

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Chinese taxi app Didi shelves plans for major overseas expansion

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Exclusive: Prominent tech company cuts half its UK employees amid signs of pressure from Beijing government

Chinese taxi app Didi has told staff it has put plans for major international expansions on hold until at least 2025 and cut half its UK employees amid pressure from Beijing on one of its most prominent tech companies.

Didi Chuxing has been on the back foot since last summer when the Cyberspace Administration of China, a powerful regulator, banned the country’s dominant ride-hailing company from listing its app on mobile app stores in the country.

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Hong Kong: Vatican ‘concerned’ over arrest of Cardinal Joseph Zen

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Prominent Catholic cleric, 90, detained with three others linked to disbanded charity for protesters

The Vatican has voiced concern after Hong Kong’s national security police arrested 90-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen, one of Asia’s most senior and outspoken Catholic clerics.

Zen, a former bishop of Hong Kong, was arrested along with the singer and actor Denise Ho, the lawyer Margaret Ng, and the scholar Hui Po-keung.

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China’s zero-Covid policy is not sustainable, WHO director general says

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Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calls for shift in approach as scores of Chinese cities remain in strictly enforced lockdown

The head of the World Health Organization has voiced concerns over China’s effort to eliminate the Covid virus, in a rare rebuke to Xi Jinping’s pledge to achieve “dynamic zero-Covid”.

The WHO’s director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told a media briefing on Tuesday that his organisation does not think China’s Covid policy is “sustainable considering the behaviour of the virus”.

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Beijing accuses US of ‘political manipulation’ in latest Taiwan row

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State department fact sheet amended to remove line saying US ‘does not support Taiwan independence’

Beijing has accused Washington of “political manipulation” and attempting to change the status quo after the US state department quietly amended its website to remove a line stating it did not support Taiwanese independence.

In a delicate geopolitical balancing act, the US has long acknowledged, but not supported, China’s claim to Taiwan under its version of the “one China principle”. However, experts say that policy has been eroded as Beijing has become more assertive.

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China’s pro-Russia propaganda exposed by online activists

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Mistranslations falsely blame Ukrainians for atrocities perpetrated by Russian forces against civilians

A number of Chinese government-linked media outlets and pro-Russia social media accounts are spreading pro-Kremlin sentiment on the Chinese internet by mistranslating or manipulating international news about the war in Ukraine.

In response, online, anonymous volunteers – such as those under the Twitter account Great Translation Movement – have exposed China’s pro-Russia propaganda by highlighting mistranslations that falsely blame Ukrainian troops for bombings and atrocities perpetrated by Russian forces against civilians.

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‘No end in sight’: Shanghai residents chafe at harsh Covid measures

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Tensions rise again as lockdowns grind on and the city’s population tire of strict zero-Covid policy

Tensions between Shanghai residents and China’s Covid enforcers are on the rise again, amid a new push to end infections outside quarantine zones to meet President Xi Jinping’s demand for achieving “dynamic zero-Covid”.

Videos shared on China’s social media platforms showed suspected Covid-positive patients forcibly quarantined in central facilities. In some neighbourhoods a single positive case could lead to residents in the entire apartment building be sent for quarantine.

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EU voices concerns as former Hong Kong security chief made new leader

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Fears grow that elevation of John Lee signals Beijing’s tough policy on Hong Kong is set to continue

The European Union has condemned the appointment of Hong Kong’s former security tsar, who oversaw the crackdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, as the Chinese territory’s new chief executive with 99% of the vote in a secret ballot on Sunday.

Josep Borrell, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, said the selection process that led to John Lee being elected is yet “another step in the dismantling of the ‘one country, two systems’ principle”.

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From India’s highs to Thailand’s lows, Asia’s weather is hitting extremes

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Analysis: As the heatwave in India and Pakistan starts to intensify again, Thailand and China are recording strangely cold May days

The final days of April saw further unbearable temperatures recorded in India and Pakistan. Temperatures peaked at 49C in Jacobabad, Pakistan on 30 April, with a high of 47.2C observed in Banda, India. The Indian Meteorological Department confirmed that average temperatures in April were the highest for northern and central parts of the country since records began over 100 years ago.

Heatwaves are a common occurrence at this time of year in India and Pakistan, but scientists believe the intensity, duration and arrival time of the conditions witnessed so far this year are caused by rising global temperatures. Despite a slight respite in the extreme heat over the past few days, temperatures are set to intensify once more this weekend and into next week with maximum temperatures expected to approach 50C in parts of north-west India and Pakistan.

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Xi Jinping attacks ‘doubters’ as he doubles down on China’s zero-Covid policy

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President defends ‘scientific and effective’ mass lockdowns despite protests, shortages and damage to economic growth

Xi Jinping has confirmed there is no intention to turn away from China’s zero-Covid commitment, in a major speech to the country’s senior officials that also warned against any criticism or doubting of the policy.

Addressing the seven-member politburo standing committee, China’s highest decision-making body, specifically about the Shanghai outbreak, the president said China’s response was “scientific and effective”. He told officials to “unswervingly adhere to the general policy of dynamic zero-Covid”.

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