China has announced that couples will be permitted to have up to three children. What do couples think of the policy change?
Jia Shicong is a 31-year-old education project manager. She is married to Hu Xuancheng, also 31, an engineer. They have a baby girl who is one year and seven months old. They live in Xi’an, in central China
Continue reading...Australian and New Zealand prime ministers talk up closeness of ties as Ardern is forced to defend ‘soft’ stance on Beijing
The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, has warned that “there are those far from here that would seek to divide us”, during a press conference with his New Zealand counterpart, Jacinda Ardern, that focused on how the two countries handle China.
The leaders emphasised unity in the face of Beijing’s increasing regional influence and Morrison said any forces trying to scupper the partnership would not succeed.
Continue reading...Allies of Donald Trump took the unusual step of speaking out on Sunday in support of Joe Biden, regarding efforts to pinpoint the source of Covid-19 and find out if China knows more about the origins of the pandemic than it is letting on.
Related: Biden move to investigate Covid origins opens new rift in US-China relations
Continue reading...Efforts to find origin of coronavirus ‘must look at what animals were in the market in late 2019’
A leading scientist has called for stallholders at the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan to be interviewed in any further investigation of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Prof Eddie Holmes has joined a growing chorus of voices calling for increased efforts to identify the source of the outbreak. The US president, Joe Biden, has ordered the US intelligence community to intensify its scrutiny of the origins of coronavirus, as the theory that the virus might have come from a lab in Wuhan gains traction.
Continue reading...Mission comes after China was rebuked for uncontrolled crash of rocket that launched the station itself
A Chinese cargo spacecraft carrying equipment and supplies has successfully docked with the core module of the country’s future space station, according to state media.
A Long March 7 rocket carrying the Tianzhou-2 cargo craft – loaded with essentials such as food, equipment and fuel – blasted off late on Saturday from the Wenchang launch site on the tropical southern island of Hainan, the Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.
Continue reading...Viewers say scenes featuring Lady Gaga, boyband BTS and Justin Bieber are missing from Chinese version
For many Chinese millennials, the US sitcom Friends was a window to the American way of life. Teachers would use the show to help students learn English. Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai have Friends-themed Central Perk cafes. So when news that the original cast were to hold a reunion special nearly 20 years after the show was first introduced into China, diehard fans were excited, and some of China’s biggest online streaming platforms bought the rights to broadcast the show.
But eagle-eyed viewers complained on Thursday that some of the much-talked-about scenes in the original 104-minute runtime were missing.
Continue reading...Twenty-one competitors died in the freezing Chinese mountains, raising major questions about safety in the sport
At the starting line of the Gansu ultramarathon, it was cold but the sun was shining. One competitor struggled to warm up, even after jogging a quick 2km, and noticed some of the elite competitors were wearing shorts and shivering. In nearby towns, the temperature was reportedly already dropping and winds increasing, but the 172 runners didn’t know that.
In a widely shared account of the horror that followed, published online, the anonymous runner described the conditions that led to the death of 21 competitors and the admission of eight others to hospital, and sparked major questions about the safety of the increasingly popular endurance sport in China.
Continue reading...Media figure punished over pro-democracy rally as authorities again cite coronavirus restrictions to prohibit traditional Tiananmen vigil
Jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to an extra 14 months in prison over his conviction for an unauthorised assembly in 2019, alongside fellow activists who were also jailed for up to 18 months.
The case came as a separate ruling suggested speaking critically in foreign media interviews could breach the national security laws, and just a week before the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Authorities have banned a vigil for the second year in a row, citing pandemic concerns about crowding despite allowing other crowded events in recent days.
Continue reading...To China’s fury, Joe Biden has ordered a review of rival theories about lab leaks and animal hosts
President Joe Biden has ordered US intelligence agencies to conduct a 90-day review of what is known about the origins of Covid-19 and whether it could have escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan. So what does this mean for the lab leak theory?
Continue reading...Joe Biden has ordered the US intelligence community to 'redouble' its efforts studying the origins of coronavirus, adding that it will continue to press for China to participate in a full investigation. The deputy White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, confirmed the investigation would include any possibility the trail might lead to a Chinese lab. 'China wasn't transparent enough,' she said. 'We have been saying that for a very long time, that China needed to provide more access to the lab, cooperate more fully with the scientific investigators'
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Deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about the White House’s response to the shooting this morning at a railyard in San Jose, California.
“Our hearts go out to the victims and their families,” Jean-Pierre said. “There is an ongoing investigation, as we all know. We will continue to stay in close contact with them and offer any assistance as needed.”
BREAKING: At least eight people are confirmed dead after the mass shooting at a San Jose rail yard, in addition to the suspected shooter, police say https://t.co/BuWF2htFwf pic.twitter.com/ksGRW3gXSx
One reporter asked Karine Jean-Pierre to reflect on her history-making appearance at the White House briefing room podium today.
“It’s a real honor to just be standing here today. I appreciate the historic nature” of this moment, the deputy White House press secretary said.
Karine Jean-Pierre — the second Black woman to ever lead a White House press briefing — speaks about making history in her role: "It is a real honor to be standing here today. I appreciate the historic nature...Clearly, the president believes representation matters." pic.twitter.com/ErdayRW4VR
Continue reading...Twenty-one runners died on Saturday when freezing temperatures, hail and high winds hit the racing route: a 62-mile (100km) stretch of mountainous trail about 3,000 metres above sea level in the Yellow River Stone Forest tourist site near Baiyin city, north-west China. Mountaineer Luo Jing comments on the conditions during the race.
Family members and fellow competitors of those how died are seeking answers and accountability, as further accounts emerge of survivors’ harrowing experiences
Continue reading...The Fast & Furious star and wrestler John Cena has apologised for calling Taiwan ‘a country’ in an interview he gave to a Taiwanese broadcaster this month. ‘I made a mistake. I love and respect Chinese people,’ Cena said to his 600,000 fans on his Chinese Weibo account. The controversy began when he told the Taiwanese broadcaster TVBS in Mandarin ‘Taiwan is the first country that can watch’ his latest film, Fast & Furious 9.
China sees Taiwan as a part of its own territory, and rejects any reference to the self-governed island as an independent state
Continue reading...The Chinese Communist party is promoting a campaign to study its history before the 100th anniversary in July. ‘Red’ tourism to historically significant hotspots like Yan’an and Xibaipo has increased accordingly
Continue reading...Beijing responds to Nanaia Mahuta’s concerns that New Zealand faces a ‘storm’ of anger from China amid rising Asia-Pacific tensions
China has urged New Zealand to work in “the same direction, make the pie of cooperation bigger, rise above external distractions”, in response to comments made by foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta in a Guardian interview.
Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, said that progress in relations could be achieved “on the premise that the two sides have long been committed to mutual respect, mutual trust and win-win results”. He urged Wellington to work with China to advance a “comprehensive strategic partnership”.
Continue reading...Fast & Furious actor and wrestler apologises profusely on social media for offending Chinese fans
Fast & Furious star and wrestler John Cena began learning Mandarin Chinese nearly a decade ago. But this month, by showing off his linguistic skill in Taiwan, he got into trouble in mainland China.
On Tuesday, Cena apologised for calling Taiwan “a country” in an interview he gave to a Taiwanese broadcaster early this month, saying that it was not appropriate.
Continue reading...Observers say mistrust of government, disinformation and a lack of urgency mean vaccine take-up has been slow
Hong Kong could soon be throwing away millions of Covid-19 vaccine doses because not enough people are taking them before they expire, a health official has warned, saying it’s “not right” while other countries are scrambling for them.
The city of 7.5 million people has bought enough doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and China’s Sinovac, to vaccinate its entire population, but so far only 2.1 million have been administered since the vaccination programme launched in late February.
Continue reading...During the second world war, Chinese merchant seamen helped keep Britain fed, fuelled and safe – and many gave their lives doing so. But from late 1945, hundreds of them who had settled in Liverpool suddenly disappeared. Now their children are piecing together the truth
On 19 October 1945, 13 men gathered in Whitehall for a secret meeting. It was chaired by Courtenay Denis Carew Robinson, a senior Home Office official, and he was joined by representatives of the Foreign Office, the Ministry of War Transport, and the Liverpool police and immigration inspectorate. After the meeting, the Home Office’s aliens department opened a new file, designated HO/213/926. Its contents were not to be discussed in the House of Commons or the Lords, or with the press, or acknowledged to the public. It was titled “Compulsory repatriation of undesirable Chinese seamen”.
As the vast process of post-second world war reconstruction creaked into action, this deportation programme was, for the Home Office and Clement Attlee’s new government, just one tiny component. The country was devastated – hundreds of thousands were dead, millions were homeless, unemployment and inflation were soaring. The cost of the war had been so great that the UK would not finish paying back its debt to the US until 2006. Amid the bombsites left by the Luftwaffe, poverty, desperation and resentment were rife. In Liverpool, the city council was desperate to free up housing for returning servicemen.
Continue reading...In an interview with the Guardian, Nanaia Mahuta says exporters must diversify to protect themselves from a potential cooling of ties with Beijing
New Zealand could find itself at the heart of a “storm” of anger from China, foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta has warned, saying exporters needed to diversify to ensure they could survive deteriorating relations with Beijing.
Mahuta’s comments come as the New Zealand government faces increasing pressure to take a firmer stance on human rights violations and crackdowns by China, putting the spotlight on the potential repercussions for countries who provoke Beijing’s ire.
Continue reading...Spokesperson dismisses Wall Street Journal claims based on ‘previously undisclosed’ intelligence
China has vehemently denied a Wall Street Journal report citing US intelligence materials that said several members of staff at a key virus laboratory in Wuhan had fallen ill shortly before the first patient with Covid-like symptoms was recorded in the city on 8 December 2019.
Foreign ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, said it was “completely untrue” that three researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) became sick in autumn 2019. The report, based on “previously undisclosed” US intelligence, said the said the lab workers staff had become sick “with symptoms consistent with both Covid-19 and common seasonal illness”.
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