Category Archives: China

Outcry as China stops Pacific journalists questioning Wang Yi

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Beijing’s foreign minister signing bilateral deals with leaders but reporters are blocked, sometimes physically, from asking questions

Journalists covering the Chinese foreign minister’s tour of the Pacific say they have been blocked from filming or accessing events, and that not a single question from a Pacific journalist has been allowed to be asked of Wang Yi.

The allegations raise serious press freedom concerns and alarm about the ability of Pacific journalists to do their jobs, particularly as the relationship between the region and China becomes closer.

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‘Tragically ugly’ school textbook causes social media outcry in China

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Education ministry orders publisher to rectify illustrations of children deemed inappropriate

China’s education ministry has ordered a state-owned publisher to rectify a school textbook that went viral owing to what social media users described as “tragically ugly” and inappropriate depictions of children.

The mathematics books published by the People’s Education Press contain illustrations of people with distorted faces and bulging pants. Boys are seen grabbing girls’ skirts and one child appears to have a leg tattoo.

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China’s foreign minister tells Pacific leaders ‘don’t be too anxious’ after they reject regional security pact

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Wang Yi says ‘going forward we will continue to have ongoing and in-depth discussions … to shape more consensus’

Pacific countries have declined to sign up to a sweeping regional economic and security deal proposed by China, after a crucial meeting of Pacific foreign ministers and their Chinese counterpart on Monday.

China’s foreign minister Wang Yi is in the middle of a marathon tour of the region, visiting eight countries in 10 days, a trip that security experts have said represents a dramatic “uptick in tempo” of China’s push for influence in the region.

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Hong Kong churches drop Tiananmen tributes after 33 years amid arrest fears

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Concerns of breaching security law prompt cancellation of services that were among last ways to publicly mark China’s 1989 crackdown

For the first time in 33 years, church services to commemorate the Tiananmen Square crackdown will not be held in Hong Kong, erasing one of the last reminders of China’s bloody suppression of the 1989 protests.

Since Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in 2020 to snuff out pro-democracy demonstrations, once-packed candlelit vigils have been banned, a Tiananmen museum has been forced to close and statues have been pulled down.

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Beijing man sends 5,000 people into quarantine after breaking Covid isolation

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Actions spark angry reactions amid growing frustration with China’s zero-Covid policy though some restrictions begin to ease

A Beijing man is under criminal investigation after he skipped out on mandated home isolation, prompting authorities to send his more than 5,000 neighbours into home or government quarantine. The actions by the man, who later tested positive, come as the Chinese capital and Shanghai begin to ease restrictions.

On Monday officials said the man, in his early 40s, had been told to isolate at home after he entered a shopping plaza deemed a risk area on 23 May. They alleged that during his period of isolation he “went out many times, and moved in the community, risking the spread of the epidemic”, before he and his wife tested positive five days later. In response, authorities ordered 258 people who lived in his building to go to government quarantine centre, and the more than 5,000 others who lived in the residential community to stay at home.

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‘China in mind’: Japan mulls beefing up military as Ukraine war rings alarm

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Country could double spending and acquire ‘first-strike’ capability in shift away from defensive postwar posture

Weeks after he became Japan’s prime minister last year, Fumio Kishida pulled on a dark green bomber jacket, the hinomaru flag emblazoned on his sleeve, and climbed into a tank.

Official photos show him displaying an awkward smile for his audience at Camp Asaka – the men and women of the the country’s Self-Defence Forces – an indication, perhaps, that postwar Japanese leaders and military hardware have not always been easy bedfellows.

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China funnels its overseas aid money into political leaders’ home provinces

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Schools, stadiums or airports help the presidents of countries that receive cash from Beijing tighten their grip on power

China’s financing of overseas projects has disproportionately benefited the core political supporters of incumbent presidents or prime ministers of those countries that receive the funds, according to a new book.

During the 20th century, China was mostly known as a recipient of international development finance. Its overseas development programme was modest – roughly on a par with that of Denmark. But over the course of one generation, as Beijing emerged as the world’s second-largest economy, its footprint began to extend far beyond its borders – often in the form of infrastructure initiatives such as Belt and Road.

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Blinken criticises Chinese ‘manipulation’ of high-profile UN visit to Xinjiang

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US secretary of state says conditions imposed on Michelle Bachelet prevented independent assessment of abuses against Uyghurs, including genocide

US secretary of state Antony Blinken has expressed concern over China’s “efforts to restrict and manipulate” the visit of the UN’s top human rights official to the Xinjiang region.

“The United States remains concerned about the UN high commissioner for human rights Michelle Bachelet and her team’s visit to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and PRC efforts to restrict and manipulate her visit,” Blinken said in a statement on Saturday.

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Samoa signs China bilateral agreement during Pacific push by Beijing

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Scant details released apart from promises of infrastructure support, amid western concerns that China is seeking to expand its security presence in region

Samoa signed a bilateral agreement with China on Saturday, promising “greater collaboration”, as Beijing’s foreign minister continues a tour of the Pacific that has sparked concern among western allies.

The deal’s details are unclear, and come midway through a Chinese delegation’s eight-nation trip – but an earlier leaked draft agreement sent to several Pacific countries outlined plans to expand security and economic engagement.

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Penny Wong urges Pacific nations to weigh up ‘consequences’ of China security offers

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Australia wants to show region it is a reliable partner, says foreign minister, and to make up for a ‘lost decade on climate action’

Australia’s foreign affairs minister has used a visit to Fiji to urge Pacific countries to weigh up the “consequences” of accepting security offers from Beijing, saying the region should determine its own security.

Speaking on the second day of her trip, Penny Wong said Australia wanted to show it was a reliable and trustworthy partner, and was also “determined to make up for” what she described as “a lost decade on climate action”.

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Chinese technology shares jump as Alibaba sales exceed forecasts

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E-commerce company’s revenues rise 9% to 204bn yuan despite weakening economy

Chinese technology shares jumped after strong results from internet companies, including better-than-expected sales at the e-commerce firm Alibaba despite an economic slowdown driven by Beijing’s Covid-19 lockdowns.

The Hangzhou-based company beat analysts’ forecasts with its sales and profit figures for the first quarter despite a weakening economy, and it did better than local rivals such as Tencent. Revenues rose 9% to 204bn yuan (£24bn) in the first three months of the year.

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New Zealand and allies allowed ‘vacuum’ to develop in Pacific, former foreign minister says

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Comments by Winston Peters come as China hopes 10 Pacific countries will sign wide-ranging security deal

New Zealand and its allies have failed to listen to “alarm bells” about China’s growing influence, and allowed a “vacuum” to develop in the Pacific, New Zealand’s former foreign minister Winston Peters has said.

His comments come amid news that China hopes 10 Pacific countries will sign a wide-ranging draft deal covering security, trade and investment. The agreement would dramatically increase China’s influence in the region.

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Antony Blinken says US is not seeking ‘cold war’ with China

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US secretary of state vigorously defends existing global order but admits Washington sees Beijing a ‘long-term challenge’

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has called for a vigorous defence of the existing global order, but stressed that Joe Biden’s administration did not seek a “cold war” with China.

“President Biden believes this decade will be decisive,” Blinken said in a China policy speech on Thursday. “The actions we take at home and with countries worldwide will determine whether our shared vision of the future will be realised.”

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Hong Kong judicial independence under systematic attack, legal figures warn

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Signatories of legal opinion say territory’s government is using continued presence of overseas judges as ‘vote of confidence’

International judicial figures including the former UK attorney general Sir Robert Buckland have warned the remaining British, Australian and Canadian judges operating in Hong Kong that they are working in an environment where judicial independence has been wholly undermined and the Chinese Communist party can dictate the outcome of cases.

The group has backed a legal opinion that says the systematic threats to Hong Kong’s judicial independence will continue to intensify, and that the continued presence of overseas judges is being used by the territory’s government as a vote of confidence.

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Penny Wong tells Pacific nations ‘we have heard you’ as Australia and China battle for influence

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Foreign minister uses speech in Fiji to declare ‘this is a different Australian government’ that will act responsibly on climate change

The new foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has promised to treat Pacific island countries with respect, telling an audience in Fiji that Australia is “a partner that doesn’t come with strings attached” and won’t “impose unsustainable financial burdens”.

Wong promised to respect Pacific priorities and institutions as she set out an implicit contrast with China, which is pursuing a sweeping regional economic and security deal with Pacific nations that would dramatically expand Beijing’s influence and reach into those countries.

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Deal proposed by China would dramatically expand security influence in Pacific

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Leaked copy of draft shows Beijing wants more involvement in policing, cybersecurity and marine mapping

China is pursuing a sweeping regional economic security deal with Pacific nations that would dramatically expand its influence and reach into those countries, in a pact that has western countries and some Pacific leaders deeply worried.

The wide-ranging deal lays out China’s vision for a much closer relationship with the Pacific, especially on security matters, with China proposing it would be involved in training police, cybersecurity, sensitive marine mapping and gaining greater access to natural resources.

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Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand ‘ready to respond’ to Pacific’s security needs as China seeks deal in region

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Prime minister says ‘the Pacific is our home’ as Beijing plans a regional security pact with almost a dozen island nations

Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand is “ready to respond” to security needs in the Pacific, after it emerged China is planning a Pacific-wide security deal with almost a dozen island nations.

The prime minister, who is touring the US, said she believed the Pacific could meet its security needs internally, implying it should do so without intervention from China or elsewhere. “On anything related to security arrangements, we are very strongly of the view that we have within the Pacific the means and ability to respond to any security challenges that exist and New Zealand is willing to do that,” Ardern said.

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Fears Biden’s Taiwan comments may raise tensions despite rowback

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President said US would ‘get involved ’ if China attacked Taiwan, which some saw as policy shift

Comments by Joe Biden suggesting major US policy changes in regard to defending Taiwan before Washington quickly rowed back have sparked concern that the confusion could escalate tensions.

On Monday, in answer to a reporter’s question at a meeting of the informal Quad alliance, the US president said the US would “get involved militarily” to defend Taiwan if it came under attack from China. The answer was interpreted by some as an indication of a major policy shift. However, within minutes the state department began walking back the comments, and Biden himself clarified on Tuesday that there was no change to US policy.

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Australia ‘louder than we should have been’ in criticising China says former Asio chief

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Sharp critique from Duncan Lewis comes as Chinese foreign minister embarks on ‘extraordinary’ Pacific island nation tour

Australia’s former intelligence chief Duncan Lewis says Australia has been “rather louder than we should have been” in public criticism of China when a better approach, given escalating regional tensions, should have been “speak softly and carry a big stick”.

Lewis has told the Australian National University’s national security podcast Australia had been at the forefront of China criticism in recent years “when we might well have been better to have been one back and one wide”.

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Xi Jinping defends China’s human rights record to visiting UN commissioner

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Leader warns against using issue as ‘excuse to interfere in internal affairs of other countries’ as Michelle Bachelet goes to Xinjiang

China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has spoken with the UN human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, as she visited the Xinjiang region, warning against the politicisation of human rights as an “excuse to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries” and defending his government’s record.

It comes amid renewed defensiveness in Beijing after the publication of a significant data leak from Xinjiang’s security apparatus, including mugshots of thousands of detained Uyghurs and internal documents outlining shoot-to-kill policies for those who try to escape.

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