On Sunday in Taipei, the sun rose. The city’s parks and morning markets filled with people enjoying the unseasonable warmth, and the smell of the city’s inexplicably expensive coffees drifted through the laneways as scooters buzzed through the crowds of pedestrians and bicycles. Twelve hours earlier an election watched by the world, framed as a choice between “war and peace” or “democracy and authoritarianism” with existential implications for the global order, came to an end. A winner was declared, a loser conceded, voters were either overjoyed or disappointed. China –…
Day: January 15, 2024
China Bids to Woo Back Global Elites at Davos Forum
China will put on a show of force Tuesday with a large delegation represented by Prime Minister Li Qiang at the annual meeting of global elites in Davos, despite shadows cast by wars raging in Ukraine and Gaza. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also attending the World Economic Forum in person for the first time since Russia’s invasion in 2022, hoping to drum up more aid as the conflict approaches its second anniversary. Kyiv has been scrambling to ensure financial support does not waver for Ukraine during the biggest war…
Kim Jong Un to revise constitution, label S Korea as ‘primary enemy’
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has pledged to amend the country’s constitution to declare South Korea as Pyongyang’s “primary and immutable enemy,” a decision that could further escalate tensions on the Korean peninsula and beyond. During a speech at the Supreme People’s Assembly Monday, Kim articulated the need to revise the North Korean constitution, proposing the idea to include provisions for the “occupation, subjugation, and annexation” of South Korea into North Korea in the event of a conflict on the Korean peninsula. “I believe it is right to revise…
Iran launches missile strikes against targets in Syria and northern Iraq
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards launched a barrage of ballistic missiles against targets in Syria and northern Iraq, including what the elite force described as an Israeli intelligence centre run by Mossad, the spy agency. The guards said the missile strikes on an “espionage centre” in the Iraqi city of Erbil were in retaliation for Israeli strikes that killed an Iranian commander in Syria, as well as members of Iran-backed militant groups…
Beijing is already prepared for Taiwan reunification
That’s why one of the three candidates in Saturday’s election said he does not support independence while another said there is no point talking about it. I am optimistic that mainland China and Taiwan will sit down and talk soon, and the two sides will find a path forward to a truly reunified China. Mainland China is already prepared for cross-strait reunification. Beijing has set 2035 for the completion of construction of a cross-strait bridge. Popular sentiment has been captured by a song by a mainland artist about his desire…
Beijing tells some investors not to sell as Chinese stock rout resumes
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Chinese authorities have in recent days told some institutional investors not to sell stocks, as regulators face renewed pressure to stabilise share prices following the steep decline in the first weeks of the new year. Since October, market regulators have been providing private instructions — known as “window guidance” — to some investors, which prevent them from being net sellers of equities on certain days. Such restrictions on selling helped…
China’s private firms warned ‘days of runaway growth have gone’ amid debt crisis, urged to thrive overseas
Some of China’s most prominent tycoons have been committed to reining in debt, and are also eying the overseas market for increased growth this year, despite Beijing’s attempt to play up domestic economic prospects and calls for more private investment. “The economic recovery last year was not as fast as we expected. Private firms are still facing huge pressure,” said Guo Guangchang, founder of Fosun Group, one of China’s largest private conglomerates. The 56-year-old is a respected voice in China’s entrepreneurial circles, with a net worth calculated by Forbes to…
North Korea Closes Agencies Working for Reunification With South
seoul, south korea — North Korea is formally abolishing a handful of key government agencies charged with promoting cooperation and reunification with the South, state media reported Tuesday. The decision was announced by the North’s parliament, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, and came just weeks after the nation’s leader, Kim Jong Un, stated that continuing to seek reconciliation with South Korea was a “mistake.” Inter-Korean relations have sharply deteriorated this year, with Pyongyang’s spy satellite launch prompting Seoul to partly suspend a 2018 military agreement aimed at defusing…
Former Chairman of State-Owned Bank China Everbright Group Arrested Over Suspected Corruption
hong kong — The former chairman of state-owned Chinese bank China Everbright Group has been arrested on suspicion of embezzlement and bribery, prosecutors said in a statement Monday, amid an intensified campaign against corruption. The investigation into Tang Shuangning, the former party secretary and chairman of China Everbright Group, has ended, and the case would be “transferred to the procuratorate for review and prosecution,” China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate said in a statement. Tang, 69, was expelled from the Chinese Communist Party earlier this month over violations of disciplines and laws,…
Men Who Say They Were Abused by Japanese Boy Band Producer Criticize Company’s Response
TOKYO — Members of a group of men who say they were sexually abused as boys by a Japanese entertainment mogul are accusing the company behind the scandal, previously known as Johnny’s, of not being sincere in dealing with the victims. Shimon Ishimaru, who represents the victims’ group, said many have not yet received compensation. The group has asked to meet with company officials, but that has not happened, he said at a news conference with three other men who said they were victims. Ishimaru is among hundreds of men…