Day: July 8, 2023

US, China Relations on ‘Surer Footing,’ Treasury Secretary Says

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Relations between the United States and China are on a “surer footing,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday in Beijing as she wrapped up a four-day visit there, saying “no one visit will solve our challenges overnight.” The world’s two largest economies – the United States and China – have a duty to themselves and other nations to communicate more closely when it comes to their economic decisions and climate change, Yellen said at a press conference at the U.S. Embassy. During her visit, Yellen met with Chinese officials…

Hong Kong App Offering Directory of Pro-Democracy Businesses Goes Dark

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HONG KONG – Punish Mee, an app that listed so-called yellow businesses so Hong Kong consumers could support the pro-democracy movement while shopping, went dark Friday as its social media accounts and their content disappeared. Yellow became a symbol of political resistance after 2014 pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong used yellow umbrellas to block the pepper spray and tear gas used by police. Control of the onetime British territory was transferred to China in 1997, and Beijing has tightened its grip on the city since. Earlier in the week, authorities…

South China Sea: Is India abandoning neutrality by backing Manila on Hague ruling?

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A joint statement issued after a meeting between Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi last week said the two countries “underlined the need for peaceful settlement of disputes and for adherence to international law, especially the [UN Convention on the Law of the Sea] and the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea in this regard”. The statement did not name China directly but the reference to the 2016 ruling is seen as a shift in Delhi’s position…

South Korean motor lubricant exports to Russia surge after oil majors retreat

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Receive free South Korean business & finance updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest South Korean business & finance news every morning. South Korean exports to Russia of motor lubricants that can be used in tanks, armoured cars and other military vehicles more than doubled last year, as Korean companies took advantage of their western competitors’ retreat from the market following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Motor lubricant exports from South Korea to Russia increased 116.7 per cent in 2022 to $229mn, according to…

China’s most desperate migrant workers jostle for temporary jobs – losing means they sleep outside and stop eating

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But the group too often returns in disappointment, wondering again when they might get their next meal, and if they will even have a roof over their head that night. Beds generally cost between 25 yuan (US$3.45) and 30 yuan a night. “A job comes by only every few days, and a group of people rush to seize it,” Wang, originally from the central province of Henan, said from Majuqiao, once the capital city’s largest labour service market, where employment agencies and recruiters shout out menial job offerings on the…

Closer US-China Communication Vital, Treasury Secretary Says

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The world’s two largest economies – the United States and China – have a duty to themselves and other nations to communicate more closely when it comes to their economic decisions and climate change, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Saturday in Beijing. Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng spoke for five hours Saturday. The U.S. Treasury described the meetings as “candid, constructive and comprehensive,” while Chinese state media termed them “in-depth, candid and pragmatic.” Yellen defended Biden administration restrictions on technology exports that Beijing disagrees with and said…

Climate-hit Pakistan to Cooperate With Switzerland to Manage Risks of Natural Disaster

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ISLAMABAD —  Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Saturday his country looked forward to cooperating with Switzerland on managing the effects of climate change and receiving an advanced weather warning system from the European country. Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis and the head of Pakistan’s disaster management authority, Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik, signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the Nathia Gali resort, located some 85 kilometers (53 miles) from Islamabad, to cooperate on ways to manage natural disaster risks. The two countries announced they will “pool resources” to help…

8 Years After ‘709,’ Persecution of Chinese Human Rights Lawyers Continues

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Advertisement Starting on July 9, 2015, the Chinese government launched an unprecedented nationwide crackdown on human rights lawyers. In the following few months, police interrogated and detained over 300 lawyers and paralegal assistants and raided three law firms. Dozens of lawyers and legal assistants and activists were detained, and 15 were eventually convicted. These lawyers and law firms were some of the few willing to take on sensitive cases related to civil rights, prosecuted human rights defenders, and ethnic minorities. Now, eight years on, the “709 Crackdown” is not just…

No Barbie Girl in Vietnam’s World 

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washington —  Two very different films are set to come out on July 21. One is about the development of the world’s first nuclear weapons. The other is about Barbie. Which one has proved to be contentious on the global stage? Surprisingly, it’s not the Oppenheimer biopic. Instead, the much-anticipated “Barbie” has stoked controversy in both Vietnam and the Philippines this week, with the former banning it outright and the latter considering a similar move. Over the years, Barbie manufacturer Mattel has come under fire for producing dolls that aren’t…

Taiwan to Expand Presence in India Amid Growing Economic Ties

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NEW DELHI —  In a signal that India-Taiwan economic ties are on the rise, Taipei this week announced it will expand its presence in the country by opening a representative office in Mumbai. While New Delhi has maintained a low profile on political contacts with Taiwan, business ties between the two countries have been expanding in recent years. India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesman, Arindam Bagchi, said Thursday that Taiwan’s plans to open the Mumbai center should be seen in the context of India’s policy, which “facilitates, promotes interactions with Taiwan…