Day: March 7, 2024

Hong Kong Pushes Strict New Security Law With Unusual Speed

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Under pressure from Beijing, officials in Hong Kong are scrambling to pass a long-shelved national security law that could impose life imprisonment for treason, insurrection and colluding with external forces, stiff penalties aimed at further curbing dissent in the Asian financial center. The law known as Article 23 has long been a source of public discontent in Hong Kong, a former British colony that had been promised certain freedoms when it was returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Now, it is expected to be enacted with unusual speed in the…

Career or family? The dilemma facing women in South Korea

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Yoon Yoo-rim was an office worker in South Korea until six years ago, when she informed her employer she was pregnant. “As soon as I told them,” she says, “they hired a young man as my replacement.” Yoon now works from home writing digital comics — webtoons — and taking care of her five-year-old daughter. She would probably have quit her job in overseas sales once she had a family anyway, she says, because of the long hours and company dinner and drinking sessions. “My female colleagues also found it…

China’s GDP gap with US, Malaysians mock Starbucks franchisee, Japan’s geisha visitors ban: SCMP’s 7 highlights of the week

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3. Hongkonger involved in scandal-hit party gets 160 hours of community service Celia Wong (second left) and Witman Hung (centre) during the latter’s 53rd birthday party at Reserva Iberica Tapas Bar and Cafe in Wan Chai. Photo: Handout A magistrate has handed down a sentence of 160 hours of community service to a Hong Kong marketing executive who misled health officials over an infamous birthday party in 2022 that had top officials in attendance. 4. Malaysians mock Starbucks franchisee’s calls to end boycott over Israel-Gaza war Vincent Tan pictured in…

China’s South Asia ‘bridgehead’ needs urgent infrastructure boost to aid security, mineral exploration

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China should address an urgent need for infrastructure construction in a strategically important part of its southwestern Tibet autonomous region – seen as a “bridgehead” to South Asia – to enhance national security and mineral exploration, according to the head of one of its largest aluminium producers. “As a base for China’s mineral resources reserve, [Ngari prefecture] is an important transport and logistics hub in the western part of the country,” said Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference delegate Duan Xiangdong during the ongoing “two sessions” in Beijing. “There is an…

Hong Kong fast-tracks tough new national security law

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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. Hong Kong is fast-tracking a tough new national security law that imposes life imprisonment for treason and increases sentences for crimes such as sedition, fuelling concerns that civil liberties are being eroded as the territory becomes increasingly aligned with mainland China. The bill was published on Friday, ahead of a special meeting of Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing legislature and just days after a public consultation ended. John Lee, the city’s leader,…

Hong Kong to fast-track tough new national security law

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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. Hong Kong is fast-tracking a tough new national security law that proposes life imprisonment for treason and increases sentences for crimes such as sedition, fuelling concerns that civil liberties are being eroded as the territory becomes increasingly aligned with mainland China. The city’s lawmakers are discussing the bill, which was published on Friday at a special meeting of Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing legislature. The government has said it hopes to pass…

US Navy Looking to S. Korean, Japanese Shipbuilders to Revive American Shipyards

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washington —  The United States is looking to Korean and Japanese shipbuilders to help revive its dormant naval shipyards and boost maritime competitiveness in the face of China’s accelerated naval buildup. U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro toured shipyards in South Korea operated by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan and Hanwha Ocean on Geoje Island last week. He encouraged top executives of the companies to establish subsidiaries and “invest” resources in integrating commercial and naval shipbuilding facilities in the U.S., said a statement by the Navy. During a speech…

Former Delegates Call China’s People’s Congresses ‘Rubber Stamps’

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Washington —  Ongoing plenary sessions of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) offer an annual refresher course in how democracy is practiced under the guidance of the Chinese Communist Party. Known as the “Two Sessions,” the meetings of representatives chosen through what Beijing calls democratic elections started in Beijing this week with nearly 3,000 NPC delegates gathering in the Great Hall of the People. The NPC is the largest legislature in the world and nominally the highest authority in China. But its delegates…

2 Independent Bloggers Jailed in Vietnam

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Two independent bloggers were detained late last month in Vietnam, including one who is a contributor to VOA’s sister outlet, Radio Free Asia. On February 29, police arrested Nguyen Vu Binh, who regularly contributes to RFA’s Vietnamese Service, and Nguyen Chi Tuyen at their homes in the capital of Hanoi, according to the press freedom group the Committee to Protect Journalists. Binh was arrested on unclear charges after being summoned to meet with the police the previous day, media reports said. This is far from the first time that Vietnamese…

For China to leave S Korean shipbuilding rivals in its wake, leaders told to be stern in shipbuilding efforts and seas the day

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“Domestically, there is a lack of core research and development capabilities for key engine components, positioning China at the lower end of the industrial chain in the international market, leading to low competitiveness, a small market share, a lack of pricing power, and limited product development,” Fu said. As South Korea clings to shipbuilding secrets, China must ‘turn somewhere else’ China’s roughly 3,000 NPC delegates frequently make suggestions, proposals and convey public sentiment to policymakers, and Fu contended that it is imperative for the country to establish a comprehensive research…