Failing to properly respond to China’s unofficial trade embargo against Lithuania will “embolden [Beijing] to engage in further coercion”, members of the European Parliament have warned top Brussels officials.In a letter seen by the South China Morning Post, a group of 41 lawmakers told EU chiefs that inaction “will also allow [the] PRC to weaken EU unity and intensify ‘divide and rule’ practices among the EU member states as well as seek to diminish the EU’s role globally”.Lithuania became…South China Morning Post
Day: January 17, 2022
Unvaccinated over-60s face monthly fine in Greece; UK reports another 84,429 cases and 85 deaths – as it happened
Greece on Monday imposed a vaccination mandate for people over the age of 60, as coverage remains below the EU average and a recent rise in infections has sustained pressure on hospitals, the Associated Press reports. Older people who fail to get vaccinated will face penalties, starting at a €50 ($57) fine in January and followed by a monthly fine of €100 ($114) after that. About two-thirds of Greece’s 10.7 million population is fully vaccinated – the EU average is just over 70%. The rate of death and daily hospitalisations…
China Won’t Sell Olympics Tickets to Chinese Public
China had already barred foreign spectators from attending the Winter Games that begin in Beijing in less than a month. On Monday, it announced that most Chinese people won’t be able to attend either. Citing the evolving threat from the coronavirus pandemic, the Beijing 2022 organizing committee announced that it was ending ticket sales to the events “to ensure the safety of all participants and spectators.” The decision came less than two days after health authorities reported Beijing’s first case of the Omicron variant and ordered an immediate lockdown and…
China’s Births Hit Historic Low, a Political Problem for Beijing
China announced on Monday that its birthrate plummeted for a fifth straight year in 2021, moving the world’s most populous country closer to the potentially seismic moment when its population will begin to shrink, and hastening a demographic crisis that could undermine its economy and even its political stability. The falling birthrate, coupled with the increased life expectancy that has accompanied China’s economic transformation over the last four decades, means the number of people of working age, relative to the growing number of people too old to work, has continued…
‘They treat me like dirt and tortured me’: Australian activist on three years in Chinese prisons
Australian writer and democracy activist Dr Yang Hengjun’s health is failing as he approaches three years imprisoned in China, say friends who fear he may not survive his incarceration. Wednesday is the third anniversary of Yang’s arrest at Guangzhou airport on allegations of espionage on behalf of an unnamed foreign country. He maintains his innocence. “Sometimes I’m pessimistic and sometimes I’m optimistic,” he said in a dictated statement from prison, made before he was blindfolded and led back to his cell. “I’m confident I didn’t do what they said I…
Covid: Beijing city urges end to overseas deliveries over Omicron
On Monday, China announced that it would not be selling tickets to members of the public for the Games. As part of virus control measures, only people invited will be allowed to attend. It is not yet clear how they will be selected or whether they will have to quarantine. BBC
China’s birthrate falls to 61-year low despite moves to stave off demographic crisis
China’s birthrate has fallen to its lowest level in six decades, barely outnumbering deaths in 2021 despite major government efforts to increase population growth and stave off a demographic crisis. Across China, 10.62 million babies were born in 2021, a rate of 7.52 per thousand people, the national bureau of statistics said on Monday. In the same period 10.14 million deaths were recorded, a mortality rate of 7.18 per thousand, producing a population growth rate of just 0.34 per thousand head of population. The rate of growth is the lowest…
China’s Economy Slowed Late Last Year on Real Estate Troubles
BEIJING — Construction and property sales have slumped. Small businesses have shut because of rising costs and weak sales. Debt-laden local governments are cutting the pay of civil servants. China’s economy slowed markedly in the final months of last year as government measures to limit real estate speculation hurt other sectors as well. Lockdowns and travel restrictions to contain the coronavirus also dented consumer spending. Stringent regulations on everything from internet businesses to after-school tutoring companies have set off a wave of layoffs. China’s National Bureau of Statistics said Monday…