Category Archives: China

Gavin Williamson has Sunak’s ‘full confidence’, says No10, as Starmer calls for him to be sacked – UK politics live

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Prime minister’s judgment called into question after making Williamson minister again

Keir Starmer has said Gavin Williamson should be sacked, because he is “not fit” be a government minister.

But, speaking to journalists this morning, the Labour leader focused his criticism on Rishi Sunak for giving Williamson a job as a minister without portfolio in the Cabinet Office, with the right to attend cabinet.

It is so disappointing that yet again we’re having a discussion about the prime minister’s judgment, this time in relation to Gavin Williamson. He’s clearly got people around the cabinet table who are not fit to be there. That is because he was so weak and wanted to avoid an election within his own party and I think the only way out of this, because these debates are going to go on, because of the weak position the prime minister is in, I think we should say to the public, they should have a choice - do you want to carry on with this chaos or do you want the stability of a Labour government? That’s why I think there is such a powerful case for a general election.

I think that the prime minister has got people who are clearly not fit for the job around the cabinet table. Gavin Williamson has got history when it comes to breaches of security and leaking, etc. He is clearly not suitable, but the central focus really here is on the prime minister, to ask the question why has he put these people around the cabinet.

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Apple warns iPhone shipments will be delayed due to Covid restrictions at Foxconn plant

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Tech company says customers will experience longer wait times as the plant in China is operating at reduced capacity

Apple has said it expects fewer iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone Pro Max shipments than previously anticipated as Covid-19 restrictions temporarily disrupt production at an assembly facility in Zhengzhou, China.

“The facility is currently operating at significantly reduced capacity,” Apple said in a statement. “Customers will experience longer wait times to receive their new products.”

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China’s ‘unswerving’ zero-Covid rules see no let up

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Unexpected announcement quashes hopes of lifting lockdowns, quarantining and rigorous testing

Health officials in China on Saturday dashed hopes there would be a relaxation of the country’s strict Covid-19 restrictions. At a news conference, they insisted China would “unswervingly” stick to its zero-Covid policy which includes lockdowns, quarantining and rigorous testing aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus.

The announcement follows several days’ speculation that they were considering changing a disease containment policy that has disrupted economic growth and daily life, and is increasingly out of step with the rest of the world.

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US accuses Russia and China of protecting North Korea from UN

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China and Russia, meanwhile, accuse US of inflaming tensions with large-scale joint military exercises with South Korea

The United States has accused Russia and China of providing “blanket protection” to North Korea from further UN Security Council action and said the pair had “bent over backwards” to justify Pyongyang’s ballistic missile launches.

The US, Britain, France, Albania, Ireland and Norway requested that the Security Council meet on Friday after North Korea, formally known as the DPRK, fired multiple missiles, including a possible failed intercontinental ballistic missile.

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Rumours of zero-Covid easing spread in China amid anger at restrictions

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Despite relatively low case numbers, there are reportedly about 200 lockdowns across the country

Waves of outrage and frustration over China’s lockdown measures this week have demonstrated widening cracks in the general compliance with the government’s zero-Covid policy.

Rising anger has been driven by the tragic death of a toddler, and highly public problematic lockdowns in the Henan capital, Zhengzhou. Officials were left scrambling to control the narrative, amid swirling rumours of imminent policy shifts and a former government health expert saying on Friday that “substantive changes will happen soon”.

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Spanish airspace partially closed as Chinese rocket debris falls to Earth

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Huge chunk of Long March 5B rocket launched four days previously re-enters atmosphere

A hefty chunk of the massive rocket used to deliver the third module of China’s Tiangong space station has fallen back to Earth uncontrolled, triggering the closure of some of Spain’s airspace and leading to hundreds of flight delays.

Four days after blasting off from southern China, a large part of the Long March 5B (CZ-5B) rocket broke up as it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere over the south-central Pacific ocean at 10.01 UTC, according to European and US space authorities.

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China and Germany condemn Russian threat to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine

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Xi Jinping tells Olaf Scholz of the need for greater cooperation during ‘times of change and turmoil’

Xi Jinping and Olaf Scholz have condemned Russia’s threat to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, with both leaders expressing their desire for the conflict to end.

The Chinese president stressed the need for greater cooperation between China and Germany in what he referred to as “times of change and turmoil”, and said both leaders “jointly oppose the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons,” although he stopped short of criticising Russia or calling for the withdrawal of Russian troops.

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Canada orders China to divest from country’s mining companies

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Move comes after ‘multi-step’ review by Canada’s national security and intelligence agencies

Canada has ordered China to immediately sell its holdings in three Canadian mining companies, as the need for investments in the extraction of critical minerals clashes with growing concerns over national security.

On Wednesday Canada’s industry minister, François-Philippe Champagne, said three Chinese companies would be required to divest from junior mining companies.

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Hong Kong exiles in UK unnerved by ‘weak’ response to beating of protester

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Activists fear for their safety after limited UK riposte to assault on demonstrator outside Chinese consulate

Hong Kong migrants who fled repression by China said they fear for their safety and are calling on the UK government to take a bolder stance after a pro-democracy protester was beaten in the grounds of a Chinese consulate two weeks ago.

The assault in Manchester drew swift condemnation from activists and politicians across the Commons as videos circulated showing a senior Chinese diplomat forcefully grabbing a pro-democracy protester’s hair before the protester was wrestled to the ground and beaten by a group of men.

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Germany’s Scholz heads to China amid questions over strategy

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Scholz’s coalition government seems uncertain about what sort of relationship it wants with Beijing

Russia’s war in Ukraine has woken Germany up to the risk of having an economy that is too reliant on raw materials provided by an autocratic strongman. But as the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, heads to Beijing at the end of this week, there are questions as to whether he would rather leave lessons from the recent past at home in Berlin.

Scholz is the first representative of a liberal democracy to be granted a state visit to China since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan in 2019, and will be the first major political leader to meet Xi Jinping since the Chinese president consolidated his power with a shake-up at the top of the Communist party.

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Father of three-year-old blames China’s zero-Covid policy for son’s death

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Tuo Shilei said his son was delayed in receiving treatment due to strict lockdown conditions in city of Lanzhou

The father of a three-year-old boy who died from carbon monoxide poisoning in north-west China said strict Covid-19 policies “indirectly killed” his son by causing delays obtaining treatment.

The boy’s death on Tuesday sparked outrage on social media and is the latest incident to trigger blowback against China’s strict zero-Covid policy.

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TikTok tells European users its staff in China get access to their data

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Privacy policy update confirms data of continent’s users available to range of TikTok bases including in Brazil, Israel and US

TikTok is spelling out to its European users that their data can be accessed by employees outside the continent, including in China, amid political and regulatory concerns about Chinese access to user information on the platform.

The Chinese-owned social video app is updating its privacy policy to confirm that staff in countries, including China, are allowed to access user data to ensure their experience of the platform is “consistent, enjoyable and safe”.

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Supply fears as China lockdown hits world’s largest iPhone factory

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Foxconn plant in Zhengzhou, from which many workers have fled, now under seven-day Covid lockdown

Chinese authorities have announced a seven-day coronavirus lockdown in the area around the world’s largest iPhone factory, stoking concern that production will be severely curtailed ahead of the Christmas period.

Foxconn’s plant in Zhengzhou, which employs about 200,000 people, produces the majority of Apple’s new phones, including the new iPhone 14.

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Chinese city accused of ‘performative lockdown lifting’

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Residents claim Zhengzhou authorities are trying to avoid scrutiny of Covid lockdown’s severity

Authorities in Zhengzhou have been accused of “performative lockdown lifting” after they partially lifted restrictions amid growing pressure from residents and the reported arrival of state media.

An almost month-long lockdown in the Chinese city of about 12 million people had prompted complaints of arduous conditions, sometimes violent enforcement, inadequate medical care, and worsening mental health. But a sudden decision to ease restrictions on Tuesday was greeted by some residents with scepticism and anger.

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China iPhone factory quadruples bonuses to workers amid anger over Covid curbs

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Apple supplier Foxconn raises daily bonuses to $55 to ease discontent after strict Covid measures prompted some workers to flee the site

Apple supplier Foxconn said it has quadrupled bonuses on offer for workers at its Zhengzhou plant in central China as it seeks to quell discontent over Covid curbs and retain staff at the giant iPhone manufacturing site.

Daily bonuses for employees, who are part of a Foxconn unit responsible for making electronics including smartphones at the site, have been raised to 400 yuan ($55) a day for November from 100 yuan, according to the official WeChat account of Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant.

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Visitors trapped in Shanghai’s Disney resort after lockdown announced

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Videos appear to show guests rushing to locked gates as strict Covid restrictions return across China

Visitors to Shanghai’s Disney resort were trapped inside for the second time in 12 months after authorities and operators announced a sudden lockdown as part of China’s strict pandemic response.

In a repeat of scenes from across Covid-zero China, viral videos on Monday appeared to show guests rushing to the locked gates of the theme park in an attempt to escape the lockdown. It followed extraordinary scenes on the weekend, with a mass escape of employees from a locked-down Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou, to walk up to hundreds of kilometres to their hometowns.

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UK minister criticised over ‘crass and archaic’ trope about Chinese people

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Mark Spencer spoke of possibility ‘some little man in China’ could be listening in to his conversations

A UK government minister has been criticised for using a “crass and archaic” trope when talking about Chinese people during a broadcast interview.

The environment minister Mark Spencer referred to the possibility that “some little man in China” could be listening in to his conversations when discussing reports a device belonging to the former prime minister and foreign secretary Liz Truss had been compromised by foreign agents.

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China braces for wave of workers fleeing iPhone factory in Covid-hit Zhengzhou

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Cities near Foxconn plant draw up plans to isolate migrant workers who are returning to home towns

Cities in central China have hastily drawn up plans to isolate migrant workers fleeing to their home towns from the country’s largest iPhone factory, amid fears they will spread coronavirus after leaving the plant in Covid-hit Zhengzhou.

Videos shared on Chinese social media showed people who are allegedly workers at the Foxconn plant climbing over fences and carrying their belongings along a road. It was previously reported that a number of workers had been placed under quarantine because of an outbreak of the disease.

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Record support during Covid and declining funding from China: what new data on Pacific aid reveals

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Lowy Institute’s Pacific Aid Map charts thousands of projects and activities from 67 donor entities, including Australia and the US

China is funnelling aid to Kiribati and Solomon Islands, while its overall spending in the Pacific region is in decline, the latest Pacific Aid Map reveals.

The Lowy Institute on Monday released its 2022 updated version of the map, an interactive analytical tool that enables users to track aid flow and development funding in the Pacific.

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Was Hu Jintao’s removal from China’s 20th party congress suspicious or not?

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Incident has split China watchers with some saying former leader was unwell and others it was political purge by Xi Jinping

After eight days of China’s most important political meeting, in which the autocratic leader Xi Jinping’s precedent-breaking third term was confirmed, belligerent foreign policy reaffirmed, and the leader of the world’s largest population and second-largest economy announced through the next five years, one question was on everyone’s lips: what on earth happened to Hu Jintao and where is he now?

The drama happened on Saturday morning. In a short window between foreign media being allowed into Beijing’s Great Hall and the start of the final public meeting of the 20th party congress, the former Chinese leader Hu was physically removed from his seat next to his successor, Xi, and out of the Great Hall of the People.

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