Day: November 14, 2023

Lawmakers Urge Biden to Bring Up Issue of Detained Americans With Xi

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AUSTIN, Texas —  U.S. lawmakers are urging President Joe Biden to prioritize the release of U.S. citizens deemed wrongfully detained by China when he meets Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday in San Francisco. The U.S. State Department says Texas businessman Mark Swidan, Chinese American businessman Kai Li from Long Island, New York, and California pastor David Lin are wrongfully detained by China. Republican Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has repeatedly spoken out for Mark Swidan. McCaul urged Biden to put the release of Americans…

Myanmar police rescue 19 South Korean captives

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South Korea has announced that 19 citizens have been rescued by Myanmar police after being held by a local illegal business in a border town in eastern Myanmar. Tachileik is located in the Golden Triangle region, a mountainous area bordering three countries – Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. The area is known to be a hotbed for illegal activities such as online fraud, voice phishing and human trafficking. “All 19 of our nationals in detention in Myanmar have been transferred to a safe location,” said a spokesperson of South Korea’s Ministry…

China population: marriages set to end 9-year run of declines in 2023, but demographic issues remain

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China could end a nine-year streak of declining marriage registrations this year, with a swift rise in the number of newlyweds during the first three quarters likely to push the annual total above 7 million. In the first nine months of 2023, 5.69 million marriages were registered in China, marking a notable increase of 245,000 compared to the same period last year, according to data released last week by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. After 2.14 million marriages were recorded in the first three months, the figure stood at over…

U.S. and China Agree to Displace Fossil Fuels by Ramping Up Renewables

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The United States and China, the world’s two largest climate polluters, have agreed to jointly tackle global warming by ramping up wind, solar and other renewable energy with the goal of displacing fossil fuels, the State Department said Tuesday. The announcement comes as President Biden prepares to meet Wednesday with President Xi Jinping of China for their first face-to-face discussion in a year. The climate agreement could emerge as a bright spot in talks that are likely to focus on sensitive topics including Taiwan, the war in Ukraine and the…

Japan’s economy contracts as weak consumption undercuts recovery

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Japan’s economy contracted more sharply than expected in the third quarter, underscoring the fragility of its post-pandemic recovery and complicating the Bank of Japan’s efforts to gradually unwind its easing measures. Gross domestic product declined 2.1 per cent on an annualised basis on weak household consumption and business spending, much deeper than the average 0.4 per cent fall forecast by economists.  The reading translated into a 0.5 per cent contraction…

Taiwan to crack down on fishing boats with ‘illegal’ BeiDou satnav systems

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Taiwan has pledged to strengthen its ban on the Chinese mainland’s BeiDou satellite navigation system after its equipment was found on a fishing boat seized for trafficking narcotics, according to the island’s media. The Taiwanese fisheries agency said on Tuesday that the fishers would be fined and their equipment confiscated as a penalty for breaching the BeiDou ban, imposed in 2018 when the satellite network’s global service went live. The agency said Taipei’s National Communications Commission (NCC) had asked for a multipronged awareness campaign to remind the fishing community that…

US, allies confront global threats; blast Russia, N Korea, Hamas

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Updated Nov. 15, 2023, 2.50 a.m. ET The United States, South Korea and Japan jointly issued a stern warning against Russia, North Korea and Hamas – highlighting the expanding scope of the trilateral cooperation, as they address global security challenges that extend beyond Asia. The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and his South Korean counterpart Park Jin, and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa met in San Francisco Tuesday. The three called the military cooperation between Russia and North Korea a “serious threat to international peace and stability,” according to…

China’s economic recovery uneven in October as property downturn continues, but retail sales rise

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China’s economic activity in October rebounded modestly, but Beijing’s basket of supportive policies is still struggling to sustain a stable recovery, as persistent headwinds in the property market and private investment, as well as debt risks, still haunt the overall growth outlook. Retail sales, a major gauge for spending sentiment, rose by 7.6 per cent in October, a significant improvement from 5.5 per cent growth in September, the National Bureau of Statistics confirmed on Wednesday. The reading was higher than the 7.3 per cent growth predicted by economists surveyed by…

China’s data regulations need more ‘clarity’, EU companies say in survey

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A decisive majority of European companies has expressed a desire for China’s cybersecurity regulators to clarify legislation on cross-border data transfers to mitigate uncertainties in business operations and reduce compliance costs, according to survey results published on Wednesday. The poll, conducted by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, showed that 81 per cent of participating companies would like further clarification on what constitutes “important data”, 59 per cent wanted the same for “personal information” and 39 per cent were hazy on the definition of “critical information infrastructure”. Each…