Coalition MP accused of hypocrisy for disparaging Australian Extinction Rebellion protesters
Government backbencher Tim Wilson has defended his decision to join pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and said environmental protests in Australia have a right to operate “so long as they stick within the law”.
Wilson joined protesters in Hong Kong last week but was accused of hypocrisy because of previous comments disparaging protests in Australia.
Continue reading...Warning follows another night of violent skirmishes between police and protesters in city
Violent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong have escalated to a “life-threatening level”, police have said, after a small bomb exploded and a police officer was stabbed in clashes overnight.
Peaceful rallies descended into chaos in the Chinese-ruled city on Sunday with running skirmishes between protesters and police in shopping malls and on streets. Black-clad activists threw 20 petrol bombs at one police station, while others trashed shops and metro stations.
Continue reading...‘Blossom everywhere’ tactic is a reaction to politicisation of MTR subway system
Hong Kong protesters have deployed a new strategy of popping up in small groups in multiple locations across the city in an effort to avoid arrest, during their ongoing campaign against police and the local government.
Small flashmobs of protesters demonstrated across a dozen districts after a call for protesters to “blossom everywhere” on Sunday, with many staying closer to home where they could evade police on foot or by bus.
Continue reading...Minister says Australia’s issue is with the Communist Party of China, not the Chinese-Australian community
The home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, has launched a wide-ranging attack on the Chinese Communist party, accusing it of engineering a series of cyber-attacks on Australian targets, stealing intellectual property and muzzling free speech.
The comments prompted a sharp rebuke from the Chinese government overnight, with China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, telling reporters during a press conference that he hoped “Australia will reject the cold war mentality and bias, and work to advance bilateral relations and mutual trust”.
Continue reading...Donald Trump announced a “very substantial phase one deal” to solve the long-running trade dispute with China.
After a two-day meeting in Washington between US and Chinese officials on Friday Trump announced a delay on plans to raise tariffs on $250bn worth of goods to 30% on 15 October.
Continue reading...Kevin Rudd is among a coalition of former leaders who have urged the US and China to settle their differences
The ongoing trade war between the US and China, with its associated decoupling of the two powerhouse economies, was a step in the direction of a new cold war, a coalition of former world leaders has warned.
Writing on behalf of the global leadership foundation in an opinion piece published in the New York Times overnight, former prime ministers Kevin Rudd of Australia, Helen Clark of New Zealand and Carl Bildt of Sweden have urged presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to end their trade dispute for the sake of the world at large.
Continue reading...Hong Kong officials say a third of 2,379 protesters arrested during four months of protests are under 18
Hong Kong officials have revealed that 750 of the protesters arrested during four months of unrest are children, sparking outrage in the city, as anger continues to grow over the government’s increasingly hardline measures against demonstrators.
The semi-autonomous city’s number two official Matthew Cheung said at a press conference on Thursday it was “shocking and heartbreaking” that 750 out of the 2,379 people arrested – or nearly a third – since June were under 18, and 104 were under 16.
Continue reading...Sport is a serious business. Ping-pong diplomacy sped US detente with China; Richard Nixon followed the path of American table tennis players. Now some joke that basketball could yet spell the end for bilateral relations, as Beijing seeks to punish the NBA over comments on the protests in Hong Kong and US politicians hit back at the league’s attempts to appease.
China’s use of economic power for political purposes has rarely been quite so visible. It began when the general manager of the Houston Rockets sent a tweet including the words “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong” – where authorities are cracking down harder than ever on the four-month anti-government movement and violence is growing. The team’s Chinese sponsors and partners cut ties. Matters soon spiralled.
Continue reading...China’s vice-premier, Liu He, to lead delegation in 13th round of talks as Trump tweets: ‘They want to make a deal, but do I?’
Donald Trump will meet China’s negotiating team at the White House on Friday for the latest round of talks aimed at ending a 15-month trade battle that is weighing on the global economy.
“Big day of negotiations with China. They want to make a deal, but do I?” the president tweeted. On Wall Street stocks moved higher on hopes that there would be a breakthrough in the dispute.
Continue reading...State media says ‘poisonous’ app made Apple an accomplice in the Hong Kong protests
China’s state media has accused Apple of endorsing and protecting “rioters” in Hong Kong’s increasingly violent protests by listing an app on its app store that tracks the movement of police in the city.
The condemnation, by the People’s Daily, a Chinese Communist party mouthpiece, appears to be China’s latest move to pressure foreign companies to toe the line after its state TV and Chinese companies cancelled collaboration with the US National Basketball Association over comments by a team official in support of Hong Kong’s protests.
Continue reading...Thailand’s Chiang Mai zoo was blamed for the death of Chuang Chuang in September, causing a panda diplomacy row
Thailand’s Chiang Mai zoo has been exonerated in a panda diplomacy row after autopsy results revealed that a celebrity panda that had been loaned to the zoo by China, died of heart failure and not from neglect or foul play.
The sudden death of Chuang Chuang, this September sparked outrage in China, where social media users blamed the Thai zoo for his death, suggesting it was caused by neglect or careless feeding.
Continue reading...Facetious statement comes after reports that show was banned in China after episode critical of the country
South Park’s creators have responded with a mock apology to reports that China has censored the programme, ridiculing the country and comparing President Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh.
The “apology” from Trey Parker and Matt Stone comes after reports on Monday that China had scrubbed all episodes, clips and content related to the long-running comedy cartoon from Chinese streaming and social media platforms in response to a recent episode that was critical of the country.
Continue reading...Man and woman, arrested on Sunday, appeared in court after arrest for illegally covering their faces
Crowds clashed with police across Hong Kong in the fourth day of protests against an anti-mask law that the government claimed was needed to stop violence but critics say is a dangerous assault on civil rights.
Hong Kong authorities brought the first charges under a new anti-mask law earlier on Monday, as the city slowly recovered from a weekend of protests against the ban that turned violent, leaving a trail of destruction and shuttered metro stations.
Continue reading...Masked protesters streamed onto the streets of Hong Kong over the weekend after the city’s embattled leader, Carrie Lam, employed colonial-era emergency powers to outlaw face coverings at protests. Demonstrators defied the emergency regulation that came into force on Saturday, displaying their creativity with a huge variety of masks. The city, meanwhile, ground to a halt. The subway was suspended and swathes of shops and malls shuttered following yet more violence on both sides.
Continue reading...Demonstrators in Hong Kong wore face masks on Sunday in defiance of a new law imposed after the government invoked colonial-era emergency powers. Protesters, who could face a year in prison for hiding their faces, threw teargas canisters back at police as tens of thousands marched through central Hong Kong
Continue reading...Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un exchange compliments as their countries mark 70 years of diplomatic relations
Xi Jinping has promised to promote a “long-term, sound and stable” relationship with North Korea as the two countries mark 70 years of diplomatic relations.
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, also sent a message to the Chinese president, saying their countries’ “invincible friendship will be immortal on the road of accomplishing the cause of socialism,” said Pyongyang’s state news agency KCNA on Sunday.
Continue reading...Analysts say Carrie Lam move could fuel protests and put city’s financial status at risk
The invocation of a draconian law to quell a four-month unrest in Hong Kong has signalled the start of an authoritarian era that will plunge the city in a worse crisis, analysts and Hong Kongers have said.
The Hong Kong leader, Carrie Lam, announced on Friday that the government had invoked the Emergency Regulations Ordinance to pass a regulation forbidding the use of face masks. The decision bypassed the legislature, which resumes sessions in mid-October.
Continue reading...Thousands of people swept into the streets of Hong Kong for a night of violent protests after the government activated sweeping colonial-era powers for the first time in over half a century, using them to ban face masks. After darkness fell, crowds set fire to two metro stations and vandalised shops and businesses considered pro-China, leading riot police to respond with teargas
Continue reading...Thousands hit the streets, crowds set fire to stations and police fire live ammunition
Thousands of people swept into the streets of Hong Kong for a night of violent protests after the government activated sweeping colonial-era powers for the first time in over half a century, using them to ban face masks.
The chief executive, Carrie Lam, also said harsher measures could be on the table if the protest movement continued, amid calls from police groups and pro-Beijing politicians for a citywide curfew, and discussion of delays to local elections set for November.
Continue reading...Bombastic and unsubtle this paean to Fang Wuzhou may be, but its vertiginous set-pieces put many US blockbusters to shame
Produced by celebrated spectacle-peddler Tsui Hark for co-writer/director Daniel Lee, this is the latest in a run of preposterously patriotic yet enjoyable Chinese event movies. It pays stirring tribute to Fang Wuzhou, a humble, Mallory-worshipping mountaineer who led a successful ascent of Everest in May 1960, declaring “the whole world will remember this day”.
Nobody really does, unfortunately. No doubt this is down to the loss of the expedition’s camera equipment during an avalanche, with the consequent shortfall in photographic evidence prompting some in the climbing community to have their doubts. The film compounds his nightmare by having Fang (Wu Jing) return to base camp to learn his beloved Ying (Zhang Ziyi) is departing to study meteorology in the Soviet Union.
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