Day: June 15, 2023

Rights Activists Say China Neglecting North Korean Refugees

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WASHINGTON —  Human rights activists and former officials are accusing Beijing of violating both Chinese and international laws, putting thousands of North Korean refugees in imminent danger. Approximately 2,000 North Korean refugees are detained at the Chinese border “awaiting imminent forced repatriation” by a Chinese government that has been refusing to protect them, said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, chair of the Congressional Executive Commission on China (CECC). The commission held a hearing Tuesday to discuss the fate of North Koreans detained by Beijing since the border between the two countries…

US Shores Up Indo-Pacific Allies, Partners Ahead of Blinken’s Beijing Trip

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washington —  White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan is on an Asian diplomatic blitz this week, participating in a trilateral meeting with his counterparts from Japan and South Korea on Thursday. On Friday, he is meeting with his counterparts from Japan and the Philippines, in the first trilateral engagement of that group’s national security advisers. Sullivan’s meetings in Tokyo follow a stop in New Delhi earlier this week to finalize details for next week’s official visit to the White House by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India – a…

U.S. Agencies Breached in Cyberattack by Russian Ransomware Group

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A Russian ransomware group gained access to data from federal agencies, including the Energy Department, in an attack that exploited file transfer software to steal and sell back users’ data, U.S. officials said on Thursday. Jen Easterly, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, described the breach as largely “opportunistic” and neither focused on “specific high-valuable information” nor as damaging as previous cyberattacks on U.S. government agencies. “Although we are very concerned about this campaign, this is not a campaign like SolarWinds that poses a systemic risk,” Ms.…

EU Urges Release of Jailed Hong Kong Newspaper Founder Lai

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The European Parliament passed a resolution Thursday calling for the immediate release of Apple Daily newspaper founder Jimmy Lai, as well as the repeal of Hong Kong’s national security law, which has been used to target pro-democracy activists and China critics such as Lai. The resolution received widespread support, with 483 votes in favor, 9 against and 42 abstentions. Lai, a British citizen, founded Apple Daily in 1995, and the newspaper became one of Hong Kong’s most popular until authorities forced it to close in 2021. Hong Kong authorities have…

China’s ‘blank paper’ graduates fear years of remote learning and no experience make them unemployable

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So, she continues to search. And she is hardly alone in struggling to find a job, especially among her fellow fresh graduates – all 11.58 million of them – entering China’s workforce this year. Advertisement China’s highly restrictive zero-Covid policy, which endured for nearly three years of the pandemic and featured citywide lockdowns, was abruptly abandoned in December, but the effects continue to be felt among the world’s largest workforce. Much of the class of 2023 spent nearly all of their formative college years cut off from in-person learning and…

US Warns of Miscalculation With China Amid Growing Tensions

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Washington —  The United States is enhancing engagement with China as it sees the potential for miscalculation with its top competitor growing, U.S. officials said. The U.S. State Department announced Wednesday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would travel to Beijing this week. During the trip, Blinken is expected to meet with senior Chinese officials, including Foreign Minister Qin Gang, the department said. The trip is seen as part of the Biden administration’s effort to mend ties with Beijing after a series of diplomatic clashes between the two countries. “We’re…

FirstFT: China’s central bank cuts key policy rate

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Good morning. We begin today with the Chinese central bank’s decision to cut its main policy rate for the first time in 10 months as new data reinforced concerns over a stalling post-Covid recovery in the world’s second-largest economy. The People’s Bank of China trimmed its medium-term lending facility rate, a one-year rate that influences bank funding costs, from 2.75 per cent to 2.65 per cent, amid widespread expectations that Beijing would be forced to take further action to support the economy. The move signalled official dissatisfaction with the state…

Australia news live: councils to get $100m energy efficiency fund; tributes flow for James Hardy

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Banned protest anthem ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ pulled from global streaming services

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A banned Hong Kong protest anthem has disappeared from music streaming services around the world after the city’s government applied for a court injunction banning its dissemination. “Glory to Hong Kong,” which has sparked a police investigation after organizers played it instead of China’s national anthem at recent overseas sports events, was regularly sung by crowds of unarmed protesters during the 2019 pro-democracy and anti-extradition movement. It is still sung at rallies and protests by Hong Kongers in exile around the world, but has been targeted by an ongoing crackdown…