Category Archives: China

Plan for largest mine in Papua New Guinea history ‘appears to disregard human rights’, UN says

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The Chinese-backed gold, silver and copper mine at Frieda river risks catastrophic environmental destruction, special rapporteurs argue

The plan for the largest mine in Papua New Guinea’s history carries a risk of catastrophic loss of life and environmental destruction and “appears to disregard the human rights of those affected”, according to United Nations officials.

In an extraordinary intervention, 10 UN special rapporteurs have written with “serious concerns” to the governments of Papua New Guinea, Australia, China, and Canada, as well as the Chinese state-owned developers of the gold, copper and silver mine proposed for the remote Frieda river in the country’s north.

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Stolen Mao scroll worth £230m was cut in two by £50 buyer, police say

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Hong Kong police say person who bought scroll thought it was a fake and too long to display

A calligraphy scroll by China’s former leader Mao Zedong, estimated to be worth millions, was cut in half after it was stolen last month in Hong Kong, police have said.

The scroll was found damaged when police arrested a 49-year-old man in late September on suspicion of handling stolen property. The South China Morning Post, quoting an unidentified police source, reported that the scroll was cut in two by a buyer who had purchased it for 500 Hong Kong dollars (about £50) and believed the scroll to be counterfeit.

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‘It breaks my heart’: Uighurs wrongfully held at Guantánamo plead to be with families

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Salahidin Abdulahad, Khalil Mamut and Ayoub Mohammed are desperate to be reunited with their children in Canada

They were captured by bounty hunters, shipped across the world by American soldiers and held for years in Guantánamo Bay.

Salahidin Abdulahad, Khalil Mamut and Ayoub Mohammed were eventually cleared by US courts and released. Their time in the notorious prison, however, continues to haunt them.

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Flu vaccine shortages hit China after rush to avoid ‘twindemic’

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Long queues and inflated prices amid fears that flu could complicate anti-Covid effort

A surge in demand for flu shots in Chinese cities has caused shortages, long lines and triple markups on vaccines by scalpers selling them online.

Residents, afraid of the possibility of catching both the flu and Covid-19 – what some have called a “twindemic”, have rushed to clinics since China began its flu vaccine campaign in September.

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Creditors must wake up fast to threat of emerging market debt crisis

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Zambia could become the first country to default on its debts amid the fallout from Covid-19, but it won’t be the last

Zambia is running out of money to pay its debts. It has asked bondholders for breathing space so that it can put a restructuring plan in place. The copper-rich African state is at risk of being the first country to default on its debts since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Not the last though. Zambia is the canary in the coalmine, a harbinger of a full-blown crisis that has been lurking in the background from the moment the seriousness of Covid-19 became apparent.

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China confirms death of Uighur man whose family says was held in Xinjiang camps

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Beijing formally confirmed death to UN but man’s daughter disputes suggestion he died of ‘pneumonia and tuberculosis’ in 2018

The Chinese government has taken the rare step of formally confirming to the UN the death of a Uighur man whose family believe had been held in a Xinjiang internment camp since 2017.

More than one million people from the Uighur and Turkic Muslim communities in the far western region of Xinjiang are believed to have been detained in camps since 2017, under a crackdown on ethnic minorities which experts say amounts to cultural genocide. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has repeatedly refused requests by international bodies to independently visit and investigate the region, despite growing international backlash.

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After Hong Kong: China sets sights on solving ‘the Taiwan problem’

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An invasion may not be imminent but experts say armed forces could have capacity to mount one by the end of the decade

Soon after China imposed the new national security law that effectively ended Hong Kong’s limited autonomy, a hawkish legal academic in Beijing spelt out a warning to Taiwan.

The law was not just about ending a year of protests in Hong Kong, Tian Feilong said in an interview with DW News, it was also sending a message to Taipei – and to Washington, which has recently approved new arms sales and high-level visits by US officials to self-rule Taiwan.

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Drones, fever goggles, arrests: millions in Asia face ‘extreme’ Covid surveillance

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Coronavirus tracking measures handing ‘unchecked powers’ to authoritarian regimes, experts warn

Draconian surveillance measures introduced during the Covid-19 epidemic are handing “unchecked powers” to authoritarian regimes across Asia, human rights experts are warning.

In a report out today, risk analysts warn that “extreme measures and unchecked powers” brought in to tackle Covid-19 could become permanent features of government across the region, and have an impact on the rights and privacy of millions of people.

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Letters to Hong Kong: ‘the final victory will belong to us’

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Dissidents and exiles write to Hongkongers to express solidarity and offer hope for the future

Mainland Chinese residents, activists and writers have watched with dismay as Hong Kong – a city that was once a haven of free speech and political expression – becomes more like those across the border as China cracks down on dissent.

Three months on from the launch of Beijing’s national security law, several have shared advice, empathy and thoughts through letters to their counterparts in Hong Kong.

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‘In my dreams I’m there’: the exodus from Hong Kong

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Beijing’s national security law has prompted the exit of people from all walks of life in fear they or their children are at risk

Joe Kwong* loves Hong Kong. But he knows he has to leave.

A university-educated construction worker in his 30s, he is just one of many Hongkongers who have uprooted their lives in recent months – or are now planning to – because of fears over the rapid demise of the rule of law and civil liberties. Hong Kong’s descent into effective Chinese control has been swift, and was cemented in June by the introduction of the national security law, which prohibits acts of secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces.

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The Guardian view on the US presidential debate: a bad night for the world | Editorial

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The dismal spectacle reminded viewers what is at stake in November for the US – and the rest of us

One unmistakable winner emerged from Tuesday’s presidential debate: Xi Jinping. The loser was the American public – and anyone else unfortunate enough to have sat through the grim 90-minute spectacle.

Variously described by commentators as a trainwreck, dumpster fire, shitshow and the worst debate in presidential history, it reflected the state of the race and the nation after four years of Donald Trump. This is America in 2020: wracked by a pandemic that has killed 200,000 people and highlighted its deep structural failings on healthcare and inequality, as well as the parlous state of its politics – a realm of bitter divisions in which facts appear to be optional.

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Families plead for Hong Kong activists accused of trying to flee by speedboat

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The ‘Hong Kong 12’ - arrested for allegedly trying to flee to Taiwan - have become the latest flashpoint for protesters

The family of a Hong Kong activist detained in China after allegedly attempting to flee to Taiwan by speedboat say they have had no communication from him and are relying on a piece of paper from Chinese authorities as confirmation of his whereabouts.

Andy Li was among 12 people caught by Chinese coastguards on 23 August. He had been arrested earlier that month under Hong Kong’s newly introduced national security law, after which the authorities had confiscated his passport before releasing him on bail.

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How HSBC got caught in a geopolitical storm over Hong Kong security law

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Bank’s future remains uncertain as it finds itself under pressure from Beijing and Washington

HSBC has been a fixture of the Hong Kong economy for more than a century. However, its origins as a financial bridge between Asia and the west have placed it in the centre of a modern day geopolitical storm. Facing pressure to choose sides as Hong Kong is convulsed by the new security law imposed by Beijing and Donald Trump pursues a trade war with China, HSBC is in danger of finding itself without friends in either direction.

Headquartered in London, but dependent on Hong Kong and China for profits, HSBC has been affected by tensions between Washington and Beijing – and shareholder concern over its controversial acceptance of an authoritarian crackdown in its key market.

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Big tech firms may be handing Hong Kong user data to China

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Allegation follows new law that lets Hong Kong ask for sensitive data if deemed to threaten national security

Big technology companies may already be complying with secret Chinese requests for user information held in Hong Kong and ought to “come clean” about the vulnerability of the data they hold there, a senior US state department official has said.

The allegation of possible secret cooperation between major companies and Hong Kong authorities follows the implementation of a sweeping and controversial new national security law that allows Hong Kong authorities to demand sensitive user data from companies if it is deemed to threaten national security.

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The new centre of dissent: Britain becomes hub for Hong Kong activists

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Longstanding cultural ties and a newly welcoming government have led to prominent exiles choosing London as their base

The UK has become an international hub for Hong Kong dissidents as China’s harsh new security law leads to an exodus of pro-democracy politicians, campaigners and protesters, who now face jail terms for their activism.

Longstanding cultural ties, a newly welcoming government and Covid-era travel restrictions that have in effect closed off other potential destinations, such as Canada and Australia, have boosted the number of new arrivals to Britain.

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One million coronavirus deaths: how did we get here?

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Milestone is known toll of months of Covid pandemic that has changed everything, from power balances to everyday life

Though an inevitable milestone for months, its arrival is still breathtaking.

Deaths from Covid-19 exceeded 1 million people on Tuesday, according to a Johns Hopkins University database, the known toll of nine relentless months of a pandemic that has changed everything, from global balances of power to the mundane aspects of daily life.

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Global coronavirus deaths pass 1m with no sign rate is slowing

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Johns Hopkins University data points to rises in countries that seemed to have slowed spread

The number of people who have died from Covid-19 has exceeded 1 million, according to a tally of cases maintained by Johns Hopkins University, with no sign the global death rate is slowing and infections on the rise again in countries that were thought to be controlling their outbreaks months ago.

The milestone was reached early on Tuesday morning UK time, nine months since authorities in China first announced the detection of a cluster of pneumonia cases with an unknown cause in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. The first recorded death, that of a 61-year-old man in a hospital in the city, came 12 days later.

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Boost for HSBC as major Chinese investor Ping An increases stake

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Move halts slump in share price after money-laundering claims and US-China spat

HSBC has received a much-needed vote of confidence from its largest investor after China’s Ping An Asset Management increased its stake in the embattled bank.

The move comes after the lender was caught in the middle of rising diplomatic tensions between Washington and Beijing and as it attracts fresh criticism for its money-laundering compliance procedures.

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