Category Archives: China

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

Posted on by

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”.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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”.

Continue reading...

Japanese premier warns of Ukraine-style invasion by ‘autocratic powers’

Posted on by

Kishida also promised increased reliance upon nuclear power for future energy independence

Boris Johnson and Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida have warned that the invasion of Ukraine could be replicated in east Asia if democratic powers do not stand up to autocratic ones.

“Ukraine may be east Asia tomorrow,” Kishida said on Thursday during a visit to London, as he called for Indo-Pacific leaders to recognise that the invasion of Ukraine was not just a European problem. Asked about the implications for Taiwan, he said: “We must collaborate with our allies and like-minded countries, and never tolerate a unilateral attempt to change the status quo by the use of force in the Indo-Pacific, especially in east Asia.”

Continue reading...

Xinjiang cotton found in Adidas, Puma and Hugo Boss tops, researchers say

Posted on by

Traces in shirts and T-shirts appear to contradict German firms’ promises to revise supply chains

Researchers say they have found traces of Xinjiang cotton in shirts and T-shirts made by Adidas, Puma and Hugo Boss, appearing to contradict the German clothing companies’ promises to revise their supply chains after allegations of widespread forced labour in the Chinese region.

Recent reports have suggested more than half a million people from minority ethnic groups such as the Uyghurs have been coerced into picking cotton in Xinjiang, which provides more than 80% of China’s and a fifth of the global production of cotton.

Continue reading...

Labor denounces Peter Dutton’s ‘conspiracy theory’ that China wants Coalition to lose election

Posted on by

In election debate, Labor’s Brendan O’Connor says defence minister’s line of attack on China is for his own political purposes

Australia’s defence minister declared he has “no doubt” the Chinese Communist party wants the Morrison government to lose the election, prompting the opposition to denounce the appeasement claims as a “conspiracy theory”.

Peter Dutton was challenged during a debate on Thursday to defend the government’s rhetoric that a Labor government would “appease” the CCP – after previous pushback from current and former national security officials – and said he believed it “very strongly”.

Continue reading...

Survivor found in rubble six days after China building collapse

Posted on by

Woman the 10th survivor of the disaster, in which at least five people perished after a six-storey building in Changsha caved in

Rescuers in central China have pulled a woman alive from the rubble of a building that partially collapsed almost six days earlier, state media reported Thursday.

The unidentified woman is the 10th survivor of the disaster in the city of Changsha, in which at least five people have died and an unknown number, possibly dozens, are still missing.

Continue reading...

New Zealand foreign minister blames ‘relationship failure’ for China-Solomons security deal

Posted on by

Nanaia Mahuta confirms ‘unwelcome and unnecessary’ deal came as a surprise to New Zealand and Australia, saying the Solomons must provide transparency

The shock over China’s security deal with Solomon Islands is evidence of “a relationship failure” , New Zealand’s foreign affairs minister has said, confirming that the pact took New Zealand, Australia and other Pacific nations completely by surprise.

The deal marks Beijing’s first known bilateral security agreement in the Pacific. The text of the final deal is secret, but a draft leaked on social media in March granted Chinese military and police significant access to the country, allowing China to “make ship visits to, carry out logistical replenishment in, and have stopover and transition in Solomon Islands”.

Continue reading...

Beijing orders ‘stress test’ as fears of Russia-style sanctions mount

Posted on by

Exclusive: exercises are to prepare China for the possibility of similar embargos from the US and its allies

Concerned about sweeping Russia-style sanctions from the west, Beijing has ordered a comprehensive “stress test” to study the implications of a similar scenario for its economy, the Guardian has learned.

According to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, an extensive exercise began around late February and early March when western allies imposed unprecedented sanctions against Moscow. Several key Chinese government agencies – from banking regulation to international trade – have been asked to come up with responses if the west imposed the same embargos on to China.

Continue reading...

Scott Morrison has not spoken to Solomon Islands prime minister since calling election

Posted on by

Australian PM insists he wants positive relationship, while Manasseh Sogavare says use of ‘back yard’ to describe country is offensive

Scott Morrison has not spoken with the prime minister of Solomon Islands since the Australian election campaign began but insists he wants to put the countries’ relationship back on a positive footing.

The Australian prime minister made the remarks on Wednesday, a day after his Pacific island counterpart Manasseh Sogavare launched a thinly veiled criticism of some politicians’ language about Solomon Islands in the wake of the controversial security agreement with China.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Beijing reopens mass isolation centre in fight against Covid

Posted on by

Chinese capital ramps up efforts to control Omicron outbreak and avoid lockdowns

Beijing has reopened a mass isolation centre as authorities seek to contain an outbreak of Covid-19 in the city.

The Xiaotangshan Fangcai hospital, which holds at least 1,200 beds and testing facilities, was first opened during the 2003 Sars epidemic, and used again in early 2020 to treat Covid patients. Its reopening signals a ramp up in efforts by China’s capital to manage the rising number of cases without going into a city-wide lockdown.

Continue reading...

Coalition accused of stalling ban on imports made using slave labour

Posted on by

Morrison government wants time to consult business and upgrade IT but campaigners say Australia is lagging other countries

The Morrison government has been accused of stalling action to prevent the importation of goods made using slave labour, as it insists it needs more time to consult business and upgrade IT systems.

Despite repeatedly raising concerns about forced labour practices in China’s Xinjiang region, the government has cited “practical challenges” in a new report explaining why it cannot immediately take up recommendations of a bipartisan committee.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Outcry in Shanghai as person declared dead and put in body bag found to be alive

Posted on by

Incident prompts concerns over city’s overwhelmed medical system during weeks-long Omicron lockdowns

Six people are under investigation in Shanghai after an elderly nursing home resident was mistakenly declared dead, put in a body bag and taken by coroners to a waiting van before mortuary workers noticed they were still alive.

The incident, which took place on Sunday afternoon, was filmed by onlookers and footage quickly spread online, sparking a furious backlash in the city which has been under a gruelling lockdown for five weeks. It also prompted concerns over the city’s overwhelmed medical system.

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war: South Korea set to reopen embassy in Kyiv; Lavrov says Russia working to prevent nuclear war – as it happened

Posted on by

This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war in our new live blog

German chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected criticism of Germany’s reluctance to send heavy weapons to Ukraine.

He said it was untrue that Germany was not showing leadership in attempts to supply the country.

Continue reading...

China says Nato has ‘messed up Europe’ and warns over role in Asia-Pacific

Posted on by

In response to British foreign secretary’s warning that Beijing must ‘play by the rules’, ministry of foreign affairs says Nato is stirring conflict

China’s ministry of foreign affairs has accused Nato of messing up Europe and stirring up conflicts in the Asia-Pacific region, after the UK’s foreign secretary told China it should “play by the rules”.

In a speech at Mansion House in London on Wednesday, Liz Truss renewed calls to boost Nato in the wake of the Ukraine war, and said the coordinated moves to isolate Russia from the world economy proved that market access to democratic countries was no longer a given. Truss also delivered a direct warning to China.

Continue reading...

Solomon Islands PM suggests Australia’s reaction to China security deal is hysterical and hypocritical

Posted on by

Manasseh Sogavare says he wasn’t told about Aukus pact until it was public while Scott Morrison accuses counterpart of parroting China’s lines

The prime minister of Solomon Islands has accused the Australian government of hypocrisy over his country’s security deal with China, saying the Aukus pact was far from transparent but he “did not become theatrical and hysterical”.

Manasseh Sogavare said Solomon Islands and other countries in the region “should have been consulted to ensure that this Aukus treaty is transparent since it will affect the Pacific family by allowing nuclear submarines in Pacific waters”.

Continue reading...

Climate crisis – not China – is biggest threat to Pacific, say former leaders

Posted on by

Pacific Elders Voice group says military tension ‘created by China and the US and its allies’ are secondary to rising seas and catastrophic cyclones

Growing military tensions in the Pacific between China, the US and Australia do not address the most significant security threat to the region – climate change – former leaders of Pacific nations have warned.

In a statement on Friday, the Pacific Elders Voice group, which includes former leaders of the Marshall Islands, Palau, Kiribati and Tuvalu, as well as Dame Meg Taylor, the former secretary general of the Pacific Islands Forum secretariat, said that “the primary security threat to the Pacific is climate change”, rather than geo-strategic tensions.

Continue reading...

Beijing halts weddings and funerals and closes schools in Covid fightback

Posted on by

Stockpiling rife as city acts in attempt to avoid Shanghai-style lockdown

Beijing has closed schools and suspended weddings and funerals in the city of 22 million in a whirlwind effort to avoid plunging China’s capital into a Shanghai-style Covid lockdown.

Fears that Beijing could soon be in lockdown have already prompted widespread stockpiling, leading to shortages in some supermarkets.

Continue reading...

Australia’s foreign minister denounces China’s ‘secret’ security deal with Solomon Islands

Posted on by

Marise Payne says other members of the ‘Pacific family’ share concerns but she rejects claims her government ‘dropped the ball’ in the region

Marise Payne has denounced the “secret” terms of China’s security deal with Solomon Islands, while insisting “no document signed and kept away from public view” would change Australia’s commitment to answering Pacific countries’ needs.

The foreign affairs minister said the agreement was “not transparent” – unlike Australia’s existing security treaty with Solomon Islands – and was also being hidden from other Pacific countries.

Continue reading...

Solomons PM could use Chinese police to stay in power, key provincial adviser fears

Posted on by

Celsus Irokwato Talifilu says ordinary people also worried about being caught in a conflict between China and the US

A key adviser to the premier of the most populous province in Solomon Islands has expressed concern that the China-Solomons security deal could enable the prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, to use Chinese armed police and military personnel to quash democratic dissent and hold on to power for years to come.

Celsus Irokwato Talifilu, who is an adviser to Daniel Suidani, the premier of Malaita province, said that while it was “fair” that Australia, the US and other regional partners had focused their attention on the prospect of a military base on the islands, the major fear for many in Solomon Islands was the erosion of democracy.

Continue reading...