Day: December 17, 2023

Hong Kong’s John Lee ‘to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang on Monday afternoon’ as part of second duty visit to Beijing

Media Library

Hong Kong’s John Lee ‘to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang on Monday afternoon’ as part of second duty visit to Beijing Hong Kong’s leader will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Monday afternoon to provide updates on the political and economic situation of the city during his second duty visit to Beijing, the Post has learned. Sources said the meeting would take place hours after Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu met Xia Baolong, the head of the revamped Hong Kong and Macau Affairs…

This group thinks Taiwan’s people aren’t taking the risk of war with mainland China seriously enough. Their goal is to change that

Media Library

Despite the serious threats and warnings from analysts in Taiwan and the United States that a conflict could erupt within a few years, the Taiwanese public’s response has remained mild as most of them do not think a war will happen if the cross-strait status quo remains in place. Beijing views Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be brought back under its control – by force if necessary. “I don’t blame them as no textbooks here teach students of such a risk,” Shen, an expert on disinformation who teaches…

N Korea fires apparent long-range ballistic missile

Media Library

North Korea launched what appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile off its eastern coast Monday, a move seen by an expert as showing Pyongyang’s clear intent on a strong counter-response. An apparent long-range ballistic missile, or ICBM, was fired from near Pyongyang at 8:24 a.m., South Korea’s Joint Chief of Staff said in a statement Monday. The JCS added they were currently analyzing data with the U.S. authorities to determine what type of ICBM it was. In a later statement, the JCS said the missile was launched at a…

Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai appears in court for landmark trial

Media Library

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong media tycoon and former owner of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, appeared in court in a long-delayed national security trial that could put him in prison for life. The 76-year-old mogul, who has already spent almost three years in prison, was among the Chinese territory’s most well-known democracy champions and a prominent critic of the Chinese Communist party. He faces charges of colluding with foreign…

Britain Calls for Jimmy Lai’s Release as Hong Kong Trial Begins

Media Library

London —  Britain called for Hong Kong to release Jimmy Lai ahead of the trial of the leading China critic and media tycoon on charges he colluded with foreign forces, including the United States. David Cameron, who became foreign minister in November, toughened Britain’s stance on Sunday by explicitly calling for the release of British national Lai, who faces possible life imprisonment. Lai’s long-awaited national security trial opens in Hong Kong on Monday, with foreign envoys and others saying it is a key test for the city’s judicial independence and…

India’s assault on unsecured loans hits Paytm and other fintech groups

Media Library

India’s central bank has moved to curb rising stress in the burgeoning market for unsecured consumer loans, hitting fintech lenders such as Paytm who had been increasingly relying on riskier borrowing for growth. The Reserve Bank of India announced in November that lenders had to increase the risk weight, the minimum amount of capital they must hold in relation to the asset, for personal loans from 100 per cent to 125 per cent after data showed the share of delayed payments was rising. The measure is designed to avert soaring…

Hong Kong Democracy Figure Jimmy Lai Stands Trial After Long Delay

Media Library

Unlike other Hong Kong tycoons who were careful not to provoke China’s leaders, Jimmy Lai had long been a proud rebel. He founded a newspaper with a decidedly anti-Beijing slant. He was a prominent face at massive pro-democracy protests. He lobbied American officials to protest the city’s declining autonomy. Then, in 2020, Mr. Lai was arrested, becoming one of the first prominent targets of a national security law imposed by Beijing to crush the opposition. On Monday, after three years in prison and unusually lengthy procedural delays, Mr. Lai was…

Nato-China ties: envoys’ visit to Japan and South Korea point to more ‘institutionalised’ Asia-Pacific link: analysts

Media Library

Shin told the Nato representatives the security of the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific could “never be separated,” and that forces that threatened South Korea would face “resolute responses not only from the South Korea-US alliance but also from the entire world, including Nato”, according to a South Korean defence ministry press release. It is rare for multiple Nato representatives to visit non-member states. Their visits came almost a year after Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg visited Seoul and Tokyo in January and met South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese…

Britain’s National Grid Drops China-Based Supplier Over Cybersecurity Fears

Media Library

Britain’s National Grid has started removing components supplied by a unit of China-backed Nari Technology’s from the electricity transmission network over cybersecurity fears, the Financial Times reported Sunday. The decision came in April after the utility sought advice from the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC), a branch of the nation’s signals intelligence agency, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the newspaper quoted a Whitehall official as saying. National Grid declined to comment citing “confidential contractual matters.” “We take the security of our infrastructure very seriously and have effective controls in place to…