An editorial in a Chinese state-run news website has suggested Communist party members are obliged to have three children for the good of the country, as Beijing seeks to address plummeting birthrates. The editorial, which was first published last month, went viral this week and drew sharp reaction from Chinese internet users, with millions of shares, views and comments. As the wave of reaction grew, the original article disappeared from the website. The piece, published by a state media outlet called China Reports Network, said every member of the ruling…
Day: December 9, 2021
Iran nuclear deal pulled back from brink of collapse as talks resume in Vienna
Efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal have been hauled back from the brink of collapse as Tehran revised its stance after pressure from Russia and China and clear warnings that the EU and the US were preparing to walk away. The cautiously optimistic assessment came at the start of the seventh round of talks on the future of the nuclear deal in Vienna. It follows what was seen as a disastrous set of talks last week in which the US and the EU claimed Iran had walked back on…
Hong Kong Tycoon, 2 Others Convicted Over Tiananmen Vigil
Advertisement Hong Kong tycoon and prominent pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai and two others were convicted Thursday for their roles in last year’s banned Tiananmen candlelight vigil, amid a crackdown on dissent in the city and Beijing’s tightening political control. Lai, together with Chow Hang-tung, a vice chairperson of the now-defunct vigil organizer the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, and activist and former reporter Gwyneth Ho were convicted for either taking part in or inciting others to join the candlelight vigil in 2020. They are…
China wants Macau to break its gambling addiction
Dec 9th 2021 HONG KONG STAKES IN PUNTO BANCO, a popular version of the card game baccarat, have often risen to well over $100,000 in Macau’s VIP suites. The high-rollers have usually come from the Chinese mainland. Even before flying into the gambling haven they would commonly agree to bet upwards of $1m during their stays. Those who have arrived short of cash because of the mainland’s strict capital controls have easily found lenders of Macanese patacas. Listen to this story Your browser does not support the <audio> element. Enjoy…
America worries about China’s military ambitions in Africa
Dec 9th 2021 NEW YORK WHEN CHINA began building its first overseas naval base in 2016, in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa, Chinese officials tried to allay Western anxiety about their country’s expanded military footprint. They said the outpost (pictured) was only for supporting multinational anti-piracy efforts, helping to secure vital shipping lanes and enabling China to protect its citizens in the region. Five years later, the facility in Djibouti remains the Chinese armed forces’ only foreign bastion. Listen to this story Your browser does not support the <audio>…
UK ‘People’s Tribunal’ Rules China Is Committing Genocide in Xinjiang
Advertisement On December 9, the U.K.’s Uyghur Tribunal found the Chinese government guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of committing genocide, crimes against humanity, and torturing Uyghurs and other minorities in northwest China. This is a momentous occasion for fighting grave human rights abuses. The U.K. government now must take the necessary steps to condemn these atrocities at the very highest level, sanction the Chinese government, and restate their dedication to protecting the Uyghur community. This decision could not have been announced on a more significant date. December 9 marks the…
China committed genocide against Uyghurs, independent tribunal rules
Reading the tribunal’s judgement, Sir Geoffrey said there was “no evidence of mass killings” in Xinjiang, but he said that the alleged efforts to prevent births amounted to genocidal intent. The panel also said it had found evidence of crimes against humanity, torture, and sexual violence against the Uyghur people. BBC
‘Beijing Spring’ Review: The Politics of Aesthetics
Can art effect real change in the world? To this ever-urgent question, “Beijing Spring” — a new documentary about the titular movement for democratic expression that exploded in the wake of the Cultural Revolution in China — responds with a resounding yes. Directed by Andy Cohen with Gaylen Ross, the film focuses on the Stars Art Group, a collective of self-taught practitioners who seized on the tumult after Mao Zedong’s death in 1976 and deployed their art like Molotov cocktails. They circulated their paintings and literature via underground magazines; papered…
China Evergrande Defaults on Its Debt, Fitch Says
HONG KONG — China Evergrande has defaulted on the debt it owes to global investors, one credit rating firm said on Thursday, as questions swirled about how Beijing would fix a debt-laden property company that has come to symbolize the problems plaguing the world’s second-largest economy. The firm, Fitch Ratings, said in a statement that it had placed the Chinese property developer in its “restricted default” category. The category means that China Evergrande had formally defaulted but had not yet entered into any kind of bankruptcy filing, liquidation or other…
China says Australia, UK and US will ‘pay price’ for Winter Olympics action
Australia, Britain and the US will pay a price for their “mistaken acts” after deciding not to send government delegations to February’s Winter Olympics in Beijing, China’s foreign ministry has said. The US was the first to announce a boycott, saying on Monday its government officials would not attend the February Games because of China’s human rights “atrocities”, weeks after talks aimed at easing tension between the world’s two largest economies. “The United States, Britain and Australia have used the Olympics platform for political manipulation,” said Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson…