Day: August 16, 2023

China Appears to be Building an Airstrip on a Disputed South China Sea Island

Media Library

BEIJING —  China appears to be constructing an airstrip on a disputed South China Sea island that is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, according to satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press. The work on Triton Island in the Paracel group mirrors construction on seven human-made islands in the Spratly group to the east which have been equipped with airstrips, docks and military systems, although it currently appears to be somewhat more modest in scale. China claims virtually the entire South China Sea as its own, denying the claims…

US Expected to Expand South Korea and Japan Security Links at Summit

Media Library

WASHINGTON —  The United States, South Korea and Japan are expected to establish an enduring tripartite security regime in defense of the Indo-Pacific region — a move China opposes as antagonistic — at their first trilateral summit, said experts. The gathering of the three countries planned for Friday at Camp David, the U.S. presidential retreat in Maryland, will be an occasion for the U.S. to fuse its two treaty alliances into a tighter security network and expand their roles in the region, experts said. At the end of the summit,…

Startup Incubator Launched for New Hong Kong Migrants to UK 

Media Library

london —  A business organization founded by Hong Kongers in London is launching a startup program to help new Hong Kong migrants establish businesses in the United Kingdom. Hong Kong Business Hub, the organizer, unveiled the program in London on August 8. Successful applicants will each receive a minimum of $64,000 in equity investment, while total investment for the program is slightly more than $635,000. Puifung Leung, co-founder and director of the Hong Kong Business Hub, said that many Hong Kongers who move to the U.K. are interested in entrepreneurship…

Global investors dump Chinese securities as state support hopes fade

Media Library

Receive free Chinese business & finance updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Chinese business & finance news every morning. Foreign investors have dumped Chinese stocks and bonds after losing confidence in Beijing’s promises of more help to shore up the country’s wobbling economy. Financial Times calculations based on data from Hong Kong’s Stock Connect trading scheme show that investors have almost completely reversed Rmb54bn ($7.4bn) in net purchases of Chinese equities that followed a July 24 pledge from the politburo of top Communist…

‘Gangster tactic’: the true aim behind Hong Kong’s pursuit of overseas dissidents

Media Library

In recent weeks, Hong Kong national security police have embarked on a tactic more commonly associated with their counterparts in mainland China. In early July, Hong Kong police announced arrest warrants and HK$1m bounties for eight dissidents currently in exile overseas. Just days later officers began showing up at their families’ homes in Hong Kong, taking away parents, siblings, children and in-laws for questioning. None of the family members have been arrested or charged. Observers and supporters say while there is still fear that could happen, it isn’t really the…

In Rural Michigan, Township Residents Divided Over Arrival of Chinese Company

Media Library

Green, Michigan —  Gotion, the U.S. subsidiary of a Chinese EV battery maker, planned to build a factory in Michigan, a state that has welcomed Chinese investment for decades. But that was before tensions between Washington and Beijing escalated and now the project’s local opponents say their fight to stop the enterprise is not over despite local and state go-aheads. At stake are 2,350 jobs generated by a $2.34 billion investment that many see as a way to secure the economic future of Green Charter Township, a rural enclave just…

Fears over China fuel wish for larger American presence in Indo-Pacific: US ambassador to Japan

Media Library

“China will never win the award for the good-neighbour policy. They have a land conflict with India,” he said in remarks at the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank. “They just fired water cannons at the Philippine coastguard. They’re in constant conflict for the Senkaku Islands,” he added, using the Japanese name for the chain of islands in the East China Sea that Beijing claims and calls the Diaoyus. Advertisement Emanuel said China’s military “fired five missiles on Japan’s [exclusive economic zone]” following a visit last year to Taiwan by…

Child Killed by Burmese Troops Guarding Chinese-Owned Copper Mine 

Media Library

yangon, myanmar —  A 9-year-old child was killed and five villagers were wounded when Burmese troops protecting a Chinese-owned mine fired on civilians in Sarlingyi Township in the northwest part of the country. Lieutenant Sit Naing of the Sarlingyi Public Defense Force told VOA Burmese that trucks from the Chinese company Wanbao Mining Ltd. were transporting copper ore in a truck convoy when security troops began firing shots indiscriminately on Monday. The official press office for the military junta has not released information about the attack. VOA Burmese contacted Wanbao…

US, Japan and South Korea to deepen security ties to deter China

Media Library

Receive free US foreign policy updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest US foreign policy news every morning. The US, Japan and South Korea are to create a leader-level hotline and hold annual military exercises as part of a historic trilateral agreement that will help Washington and its Asian allies boost deterrence against North Korea and China. President Joe Biden will announce the move with Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol at Camp David on Friday, according to…