Day: January 30, 2024

Hong Kong gets a second draconian national-security law

Media Library

HONG KONG has a constitutional duty to implement its own national-security law, as well as a practical need to do so. So said John Lee, the territory’s chief executive, on January 30th, as he unveiled new legislation aimed at thwarting subversive types. Mr Lee was half right. Hong Kong is indeed required to pass national-security legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law, the mini-constitution enacted after Britain handed back the city to China in 1997. Its practical need is debatable. Hong Kongers, at least, seem to prefer living without…

Will Evergrande’s Liquidation Order be Enforced in China?

Media Library

Taipei, Taiwan —  The liquidation of debt-ridden China Evergrande Group, ordered by a Hong Kong court on Monday, is unlikely to be enforced elsewhere in China, analysts say. “I think it’s extremely unlikely,” David Goodman, director of the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney in Australia, told VOA in a phone interview on Tuesday. “It’s not only a question of enforcement, it’s a question of what the central government [in Beijing] wants to do. If it starts to get involved in this, it has to get involved in…

North Korea Says it Tested Long-Range Cruise Missiles to Sharpen Attack Capabilities

Media Library

SEOUL, South Korea —  North Korea said Wednesday it conducted a test-firing of long-range cruise missiles with an aim to sharpen its counterattack and strategic strike capabilities, in its latest display of weapons threatening South Korea and Japan. The report by North Korean state media came a day after South Korea’s military detected the North firing multiple cruise missiles into waters off its western coast, the third launch of such weapons this month. The event extended a provocative streak in weapons testing as North Korea continues to raise pressure on…

Universal Music Group threatens to pull song catalog from TikTok in furious open letter

Media Library

Universal Music Group’s agreement with TikTok is set to expire in the next 24 hours after the companies failed to agree on issues including artist compensation and AI, meaning some of the world’s most popular music – including Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and newly viral hit Murder on the Dancefloor – will be removed from TikTok’s library. In a blistering open letter titled “Why we must call Time Out on TikTok” published on Tuesday, UMG, the biggest music company in the world, accused TikTok of attempting to “bully” and “intimidate”…

Explorer May Have Found Wreckage of Amelia Earhart’s Plane in Pacific

Media Library

A former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer says he believes he has found the wreckage of Amelia Earhart’s plane, which disappeared nine decades ago, on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean using sonar data from a deep-sea drone. Hoping to solve an 87-year-old mystery, explorer Tony Romeo plans to launch a mission later this year or next to find the long-lost plane, which a massive U.S. search failed to do in 1937. “She’s America’s most famous missing person, right? As long as she’s missing, there’s always going to be somebody…

S Korea labels Kim regime irrational, calls for an end to provocation

Media Library

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a fresh warning to North Korea Wednesday, as Pyongyang continued its military provocation, with missile tests potentially placing the United States and its allies within the range of its nuclear capabilities. “The North Korean regime stands alone globally in legalizing the preemptive use of nuclear weapons, marking it as an irrational entity,” Yoon said in a pan-governmental defense meeting in Seoul.  “A rational government would relinquish nuclear arms and find means for its people to thrive. However, the North Korean regime is recklessly…

China challenges the west for driverless car supremacy

Media Library

Since early 2020, Wuhan has been infamous as ground zero for the Covid-19 pandemic. But the central Chinese city might now be on the cusp of global recognition for a different reason: boasting the world’s biggest fleet of cars that drive themselves. Wuhan is emerging as a key testing centre for the fledgling technologies, critical infrastructure and regulatory landscape underpinning autonomous driving in China. The progress made by Chinese companies and regulators in Beijing poses a new challenge to the west, which is already lagging behind China in the development…

Sullivan says US and China aiming to set up Biden-Xi call ‘soon’

Media Library

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the US-China relations myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the US and China were aiming to set up a call “fairly soon” between President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Speaking at the UC San Diego Forum on US-China Relations at the Council on Foreign Relations, Sullivan said the November summit between the leaders in San Francisco had underscored the need for more exchanges. Sullivan was speaking after returning…

US firms in Taiwan fight geopolitical, supply-chain risks by picking local partners as investments grow: AmCham head

Media Library

“American companies may be forming strategic partnerships with Taiwanese suppliers and manufacturers to secure a stable supply of critical components,” Lin said. “Developing strong relationships with Taiwanese firms can help navigate potential disruptions in the global supply chain.” Taiwan-mainland China investment hits 22-year valley as relations sour Those disruptions, he said, have arisen from the Covid-19 pandemic and “geopolitical tensions”. Global marine shipping slowed during the pandemic, while lockdowns across much of mainland China added delays in 2022. The world’s tech supply chains have been re-routing since the US-China trade…

China’s manufacturing activity rebounds slightly in January, but remains in contraction

Media Library

China’s manufacturing PMI readings fell for five consecutive months from April last year, and despite a brief expansion in September, fell back into contraction in October. A reading higher than 50 suggests manufacturing is expanding, while a figure below 50 indicates contraction. The new numbers suggest Beijing still needs to buttress its economic recovery, even after last year’s higher-than-expected growth of 5.2 per cent. Sentiment among manufacturers has dampened amid lukewarm demand, while the property sector – an economic pillar that spans numerous industries – remains in doldrums. A protracted…