Day: January 4, 2024

Malaysians hit back at McDonald’s, survivors recall Japan earthquake, Michelle Yeoh’s new role: SCMP’s 7 highlights of the week

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Chinese scientists have revealed the design of a new electronic warfare weapon. Photo: EPA-EFE/Xinhua 3. ‘Pretty frightening’: survivors recall experience of powerful Japan quake Survivors of the magnitude-7.6 earthquake that rocked large parts of central Japan on New Year’s Day have described the tremor as the most powerful and frightening they had ever felt. Destroyed houses in earthquake-hit Suzu, Ishikawa prefecture, on Tuesday. Photo: Kyodo News via AP 4. Who is running in Taiwan’s presidential race and what does it mean for Beijing? In the lead-up to the critical presidential…

South Koreans charged with leaking submarine secrets to Taiwan

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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. Police in South Korea have charged two people with leaking submarine blueprints to Taiwan as Seoul seeks to avoid a backlash from Beijing over unsanctioned assistance for Taipei’s submarine programme. Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen in September unveiled her country’s first domestically built submarine at state-owned shipbuilder CSBC in the southern port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan has been pursuing greater underwater military capabilities and technology as part of efforts to resist…

Kim Jong Un, his ‘probable successor’ tour ICBM launcher factory

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UPDATED on January 5, 2024 at 3:04 a.m. ET Kim Jong Un and his “probable successor” Ju Ae visited an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) mobile launcher vehicle factory, a move seen by an expert that signals a strong commitment to ramp up the production of these vehicles. The North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his “respected child” Ju Ae “conducted an on-site guidance at an important military vehicle production factory,” North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said Friday.   Kim and the daughter, accompanied by major ruling party officials including…

China launches new blue-chip stock index to push growth sectors

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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. China’s stock exchanges have launched an additional blue-chip equity benchmark as part of an effort to boost investment in listings deemed strategically important to Beijing. Investors and analysts said the CSI A50 index, which debuted on Tuesday, was intended to spur the creation of investment products that grant greater weightings for sectors such as renewables and semiconductor manufacturing — areas central to policymakers’ vision for economic transition and national security.…

China launches more diversified stock index to push growth sectors

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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. China’s stock exchanges have launched an additional blue-chip equity benchmark, as part of a bid to boost investment in listings deemed strategically important to Beijing. Investors and analysts said the CSI A50 index, which debuted on Tuesday, was intended to provide an anchor for new investment products that grant greater weightings for sectors such as renewables and semiconductor manufacturing — areas central to policymakers’ vision for economic transition and national…

China steps up efforts to adapt as US-led ‘reshoring’ campaign seems set in stone

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Despite vociferous disagreement on most other issues, politicians in both major parties appear poised to continue the United States’ campaign to redirect manufacturing out of China – a sweeping change that even in its early stages has already done much to reshape the global economy. Robert Lighthizer, the US Trade Representative during the Donald Trump administration, has taken credit for the extensive regime of tariffs imposed during his tenure which permanently altered the bilateral trade relationship. In No Trade Is Free, published last year as an overview of his time…

The three men vying to be Taiwan’s next president

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The current vice-president is on the ballot and leading polls by a small margin, followed by a former police chief. An ex-city mayor, who had initially upset calculations in the winner-takes-all race, appears now to be trailing well behind. The legislative elections, where each voter will cast one ballot for their district and another for at-large seats, will run on the same day. BBC

No candy for old kids in North Korea

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North Korea is toning down its annual candy giveaway to children this year ahead of leader Kim Jong Un’s Jan. 8 birthday, handing out less candy and snacks than in previous years – and to fewer children, residents in the country told Radio Free Asia. The quality of candy is also lower, they said. Meanwhile, adults were buying their annual New Year’s “present” from the state: wall calendars that came with a variety of illustrations, including rockets and images of plump children. The calendars, marking the important dates for “Juche…

Thai police arrest 2 suspects in assault of Cambodian activist

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Thai police have arrested two suspects in an attack near Bangkok of a Cambodian activist who has been leading civic workshops for Cambodian workers living in Thailand. Srun Srorn and a co-worker were physically assaulted by unidentified men at a Buddhist temple in Thailand’s Samut Prakan province on Sunday, he told Radio Free Asia. Srun Srorn said he was in the province for a workshop on Cambodia’s 1991 Paris Peace Agreement, which formally ended decades of war in the country and paved the way for parliamentary democracy in the country.…

Fallout from Taiwan elections risks creating further mistrust in US-China relations, analyst warns

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Beijing’s likely response to a victory for the independence-leaning William Lai Ching-te in Taiwan’s presidential election may trigger a chain of events that risks further undermining trust between China and the United States, a mainland academic has warned. Shao Yuqun, director of the Institute for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said the presidential and legislative elections this month may be one of the five biggest challenges the two countries face in stabilising relations. In an opinion piece published on Wednesday on the…