Category Archives: China

Reports of teenager dying in Covid quarantine cause outcry in China

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Video of girl struggling to breathe is circulating online, with claims family’s pleas for help were ignored

Reports that a 16-year-old girl has died in a Covid quarantine centre after pleas from her family for medical help were ignored have caused anger in China, where ongoing tight pandemic controls have started to take their toll on a weary population.

Videos of the girl have spread across Chinese social media in the last 24 hours. The distressing footage, which the Guardian has not been able to independently verify, shows the teenager ill, struggling to breathe and convulsing in a bunk bed at what is purported to be a quarantine centre in Ruzhou, Henan province.

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UK to change law to stop RAF pilots training Chinese military, says minister

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Chinese recruitment ‘to understand the capabilities of our air force’ of concern, says James Heappey

Ministers want to change the law to prevent former RAF pilots from training the Chinese military, amid reports at least 30 British personnel are believed to have taken advantage of “very generous” recruitment packages offered by the superpower.

It emerged overnight that British defence intelligence is to issue a rare “threat alert”, warning that China’s military is trying to recruit serving and former RAF jet pilots to help train its own air force.

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Chinese diplomat involved in violence at Manchester consulate, MP says

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Footage shows figure believed to be Zheng Xiyuan kicking down poster and pulling pro-democracy protester’s hair

One of China’s most senior diplomats in the UK was involved in the violence against pro-democracy protesters at the Manchester consulate, a British MP has said.

Alicia Kearns, a Conservative MP, told the House of Commons that Beijing’s consul general in Manchester, Zheng Xiyuan, was seen “ripping down posters” before a Hong Kong campaigner was attacked on Sunday.

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China’s plans to annex Taiwan moving ‘much faster’ under Xi, says Blinken

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Comments by US secretary of state come after Xi told Communist party Congress Taiwan is core to plans for China’s ‘rejuvenation’

China’s government is pursuing its plans to annex Taiwan on a “much faster timeline” under Xi Jinping, the US secretary of state has said, reiterating warnings of global economic disruption if Taiwan was taken over.

The comments by Antony Blinken come as China’s ruling Communist party meet for their twice-a-decade congress, the most important meeting of its political cycle. In a major speech opening the conclaves on Sunday, Xi made clear that his plans for Taiwan remain core to his plans of China’s “rejuvenation”.

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UK to issue ‘threat alert’ over China’s attempts to recruit RAF pilots

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Former and serving pilots told not to disclose sensitive information, in attempt to ‘mitigate risk’ of schemes

British defence intelligence is to issue a rare “threat alert”, warning that China’s military is trying to recruit serving and former RAF jet pilots to help train its own air force with generous recruitment packages.

Officials expressed “concern and disapproval” of these schemes because they posed “a threat to UK and western interests”. Although they are not explicitly banning pilots from providing training, they aim to take steps to “manage the risk”.

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Calls for UK response after protester attacked at Chinese consulate

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Foreign secretary urged to take action after Hong Kong demonstrator punched and kicked in Manchester

The UK foreign secretary, James Cleverly, is facing demands to act against the Chinese government as police confirmed that a man was assaulted after being dragged into the grounds of the country’s consulate in Manchester.

Labour and senior Tories have called for the Chinese ambassador to explain what happened after footage appeared to show a pro-democracy demonstrator being beaten and kicked by several men. Police said the assailants had emerged from the consular building.

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Xi Jinping’s vision for China’s next five years: key takeaways from his speech

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President puts China’s expansionist foreign policy and control at home at heart of his plans in address to Communist party summit

China’s president, Xi Jinping, walked into the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday to open the Communist party summit and lay out his vision for the next five years. He is expected to be formally returned to power this week, and over 104 minutes his speech gave a foretaste of what is in store for the next half decade.

There were no bombshells. His address paid tribute to the party’s achievements under his rule in the last decade and pledged more of the same. Aggression abroad and control at home remain the heart of those plans.

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China bans fruity vapes – but not their export to the UK

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Popular disposable brand will still be able to sell products in Britain, despite being accused of flouting advertising regulations

China has banned the sale of flavoured e-cigarettes as part of a wide-ranging crackdown on the industry. The new rules mean vapes that have flavourings other than tobacco – such as those that taste fruity or sweet – cannot be sold on the domestic market.

But they can still be manufactured in China to be shipped around the world, including to the UK, where Chinese-made brands such as Elfbar, known for its range of flavoured disposable vapes, are popular.

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Xi Jinping opens Chinese Communist party congress with vow to take over Taiwan

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President supports peaceful reunification but will ‘never promise to renounce use of force’ as speech launches event likely to grant him third five-year term

Xi Jinping celebrated China’s crushing of Hong Kong’s autonomy and warned Taiwan that the “wheels of history” are turning towards Beijing taking control of the island democracy in his speech opening the Communist party congress.

The most important gathering in the five-year Chinese political cycle is expected to hand Xi another five-year term running China, cementing his position as the most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.

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Pakistan summons US envoy over Joe Biden’s ‘most dangerous nation’ remark

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US president questioned country’s nuclear weapons safety protocols sparking outrage in Islamabad

Pakistan on Saturday summoned the US ambassador for an explanation after President Joe Biden described the south Asian country as “one of the most dangerous nations in the world” and questioned its nuclear weapons safety protocols.

Biden made the apparently off-the-cuff remark late on Thursday while talking about US foreign policy during a private Democratic party fundraiser in California, but the White House later published a transcript of his comments, which provoked outrage in Pakistan.

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Chinese congress expected to cement power of Xi Jinping

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Constitutional changes likely to enshrine leader as ‘core’ of ruling Communist party

The highest level meeting of China’s ruling Communist party this week is likely to include constitutional changes to further cement the power of the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, party officials have confirmed.

Xi is expected to regain his position as leader of the CCP and its military commission at the week-long conference, setting the stage for retaining the presidency next year, after abolishing term limits in 2018.

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‘We all saw it’: anti-Xi Jinping protest electrifies Chinese internet

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Scramble to censor posts about Sitong bridge incident in Beijing where defiant banners were hung and a fire lit in lead-up to Communist party congress

Chinese authorities have strictly censored discussion of a rare protest in Beijing on Thursday that saw large banners unfurled on a flyover calling for boycotts and the removal of Xi Jinping, just days before China’s most important event of its five-year political cycle.

Photos and videos of the protest on the Sitong bridge emerged on social media on Thursday afternoon, also showing plumes of smoke billowing from the bridge over a major thoroughfare in the Haidian district of the capital.

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Dissidents in China detained and harassed as Beijing prepares for party congress

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Government critics and activists intimidated by police ahead of Sunday’s Communist party meeting, where Xi Jinping is expected to gain third term

Chinese authorities have stepped up surveillance and harassment of government critics as part of a crackdown on dissent ahead of the Communist party’s upcoming 20th congress, its key political gathering.

Since mid-September, numerous activists and petitioners seeking to lobby the government have been detained or put under house arrest across China, while many human rights lawyers have been intimidated, harassed and followed by agents. They say authorities, wary that their criticisms of the government could lead to social discontent and threaten the regime, are pulling out all the stops to silence them ahead of the twice-in-decade event, set to start on Sunday.

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Anti-CCP protest and lockdown fears fuel China tensions before congress

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Images show banners emblazoned with protest messages hanging from overpass on major road in Beijing

A rare protest against the Communist party in Beijing and fears over renewed Covid restrictions across Shanghai are stoking political tensions just days before President Xi Jinping is expected to secure a third term in power in a key meeting on Sunday.

On Thursday, at least half a dozen photos and videos emerged on social media, showing two banners emblazoned with protest messages hanging from an overpass of a major thoroughfare in the north-west corner of the Chinese capital. The photos show plumes of smoke billowing from the bridge.

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US will soon need to deter two major nuclear powers for first time, White House says

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New national security strategy warns of Russia as more immediate threat and China as long-term competitor

Within a decade, the US will need to deter two major nuclear weapons powers for the first time, the Biden administration has warned, pointing to the Russian arsenal that is increasingly being brandished by Moscow and an expanding Chinese stockpile.

The president’s new national security strategy (NSS) depicts China as the most capable long-term competitor, but Russia as the more immediate, disruptive threat, pointing to its nuclear posturing over Ukraine. It warns that threat could grow as Russian forces continue to suffer defeats on the battlefield.

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Shanghai says water supplies ‘normal’ after shortage scare sparks hoarding

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People rush to stockpile bottled water amid emergency measures at reservoirs after record drought

A wave of panic buying has swept Shanghai in recent days, as rumours swirled of drinking water shortages despite assurances from local authorities that supplies remained normal.

Record-breaking droughts in China dried up parts of the Yangtze River, and prompted saltwater intrusions into the estuary and depleted reservoirs feeding Shanghai, which sits at the mouth of the crucial river. Caixin media reported on Tuesday that Shanghai authorities had taken emergency measures to secure water supply after the intrusions contaminated two of Shanghai’s four primary reservoirs and forced their temporary closure.

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First Solomon Islands police head to China for training amid deepening security ties

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Thirty-four officers travel to China as part of effort to improve cooperation between the two forces

A delegation of more than 30 Solomon Islands police officers has travelled to China to undergo training for the first time, in a sign of deepening ties between the two countries, which signed a controversial security deal earlier this year.

The group of 34 officers, including a deputy and an assistant commissioner, will be in China for a month, during which time they will receive training, visit police stations and departments and learn from the expertise of Chinese police, according to a statement issued by Solomon Islands government.

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Taiwan’s president calls for unity against Chinese disinformation before elections

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Tsai Ing-wen compares China’s ‘bullying’ to Russian invasion of Ukraine on de facto national day

Taiwan’s president has called for domestic political unity to combat Chinese disinformation and cyberwarfare destabilising society before next month’s local elections.

Addressing crowds at Taiwan’s de facto National Day on Monday, Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan had to increase its resilience and international standing in the face of China’s growing authoritarianism. She warned Beijing that Taiwan would not give up its democracy or sovereignty, but she remained willing to restart communications – which China cut off after her election in 2016.

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Taiwan’s citizen warriors prepare to confront looming threat from China

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Businessman Robert Tsao bankrolls a people’s militia on the island – inspired by the example of Ukraine – to defend against invasion

On a sleepy Sunday morning 50 anonymous young men and women have wandered into a nondescript Taipei office for training with Kuma Academy. The one-day course includes cross-strait geopolitics and strategy, invasion scenarios, and disinformation. Later, they’re taught the difference between the opposing armies’ uniforms, and how to tie a tourniquet.

The citizen warriors are being trained with a 1bn Taiwan dollar (£28m) donation from businessman Robert Tsao. He made global headlines last month when he pledged the money to train “three million people in three years” and 300,000 sharpshooters for a civilian militia. The “warrior” training would be in conjunction with the academy, a volunteer civilian training organisation that launched in 2021.

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UN body reaches long-term aviation climate goal of net zero by 2050

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Decision described as a compromise by several European countries who wanted a more ambitious target

A United Nations body has agreed to a long-term aspirational goal for aviation of net-zero emissions by 2050, despite challenges from China and Russia, as countries aligned overwhelmingly with airlines amid pressure to curb pollution from flights.

Nevertheless, environmentalists criticised the non-binding nature of the agreement as toothless.

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