A businessman accused of using a hospital donation to gain political influence was trying to raise the money for healthcare workers and to combat anti-Chinese sentiment during the Covid-19 outbreak, his lawyer claims. Di Sanh Duong, 68, faced the second day of a jury trial in Melbourne on Friday over allegations he used a $37,450 donation, fundraised from members of the Chinese community, to gain influence with a federal minister. He has pleaded not guilty to the commonwealth charge of preparing for or planning an act of foreign interference. Duong’s…
Day: November 16, 2023
China’s Xi Jinping pledges to tear down foreign investment barriers, entice with ‘heart-warming’ measures
China’s Xi Jinping pledges to tear down foreign investment barriers, entice with ‘heart-warming’ measures President Xi Jinping pledged more measures would be unveiled to attract foreign investors to China on Thursday, amid Beijing’s increasing efforts to restore the ebbing confidence of foreign companies, which has hampered its post-pandemic recovery. “No matter how the international situation evolves, China’s resolve to foster a market-oriented, law-based and world-class business environment will not change,” Xi said in written remarks on Thursday to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit in San Francisco. “And our policy…
Fire in China coal company office kills 26
A fire that erupted in the office of a coal company in northern China has killed 26 people, state media said on Thursday, the latest in a series of deadly accidents in the coal industry. At least 38 people were injured in the blaze, which broke out at the four-storey Yongju Coal Industry Joint Building in the country’s top coal-producing hub of Shanxi. Calls to the company by the Reuters news agency were not answered. China’s president, on a trip to the United States, urged the authorities to ensure more…
San Francisco mocked in China, world’s fastest internet rolls out, bedbug invasion fears in Hong Kong: SCMP’s 7 highlights of the week
US President Joe Biden shakes hand with Chinese leader Xi Jinping before their meeting at the Filoli estate in Woodside, California, on Wednesday. Photo: AP Beijing and Washington agreed to work together on narcotics control and artificial intelligence and resume military-military communication, Beijing said, summing up long-awaited talks on Wednesday between US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. 3. San Francisco mocked in China for moving homeless away from Apec summit venue San Francisco removed homeless residents from encampments near the Apec summit venue, where world leaders –…
Key Issues Where Biden and Xi Diverge
Taipei, Taiwan — U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping made clear before they met outside of San Francisco on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit that they would not issue a joint statement. But a comparison of their positions in written statements issued separately after the leaders met on Wednesday highlights continuing differences in four contentious areas. Taiwan China claims the self-governing island of Taiwan as its territory. The U.S. maintains a “robust” relationship with Taiwan and sells defense equipment to its military. The…
Yoon, Kishida aim for better ties; island issues may constrain
South Korea and Japan are set to improve their once-strained relations across sectors including security and technology – a development aligning with the U.S. President Joe Biden’s strategy to maintain Washington’s influence in Asia, amidst ongoing security challenges in Europe and the Middle East. However, ongoing territorial disputes between the two nations may limit the scope of their bilateral security cooperation, an expert noted. South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met in San Francisco Thursday, and vowed for further enhancement of the bilateral relations.…
China’s 2023 GDP forecasts twisted and turned as prognosticators puzzled over country’s future
In a year that began with hopes for a barnstorming recovery but now seems to have come to a more uncertain end, world financial institutions wavered dramatically in their forecasts for China’s economic growth as optimism buckled under the weight of concerns like unemployment and an unstable property market. Predictions about the fate of China’s gross domestic product (GDP), a flagship figure that steers global investment and trade, have bobbled to a greater degree than in pre-Covid 2019, according to historic data gathered by European consensus forecast provider FocusEconomics. “It…
Philippines military accuses China of bullying and vows to continue South China Sea missions
The Philippines has accused China of seeking to bully smaller countries into submission and vowed it will continue its missions to deliver supplies to a grounded derelict warship that serves as an outpost in the South China Sea. The Philippines deliberately grounded BRP Sierra Madre at Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands, in 1999 to guard against expansion by China, and the ship has become a growing flashpoint in the fiercely disputed water. Beijing has demanded the warship’s removal, and over recent months has repeatedly tried…
3 injured in Vietnam land development protest
At least three people have been hospitalized after a clash between police, plainclothes enforcers and protesters at a land development project in Nghe An province. Demonstrators tried to stop construction workers leveling land around a shrimp pond for the Urban Area and Social Housing, or Eco Central Park Vinh, a project run by the Viet-Laos Economic Cooperation Joint Stock Company. “When the villagers went out to protect the pond, I don’t know who mobilized hundreds of police, soldiers and gangsters to force them to leave the area,” a resident of…
From China’s emissions to Australia’s offshore windfarms, things are moving on climate – some even in the right direction | Adam Morton
If you’re searching for some hope on the climate crisis before the Cop28 UN meeting in Dubai this month, try this: China may be changing direction on pollution earlier than expected. Lauri Myllyvirta, a longtime China analyst now with the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, calculated that CO2 emissions from the world’s biggest national polluter are likely to fall next year and could then go into “structural decline”. While the country’s emissions have increased this year – unsurprisingly, given that Beijing lifted zero-Covid controls at the end…