An international pressure group representing writers, artists and journalists is presenting its top award to Vietnamese author, journalist and dissident Pham Doan Trang. PEN America said Thursday Trang would receive the 2024 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award on May 16 at a ceremony in New York. The annual award is given to an imprisoned writer jailed for their views and activities. Trang, 45, was arrested in 2020 and accused of “anti-state propaganda.” She was sentenced to nine years in prison and sent to An Phuoc Prison in Binh Duong province…
Day: April 11, 2024
Biden, leaders of Japan, Philippines discuss Beijing’s aggression in South China Sea
President Joe Biden hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday, aiming to send a clear message to Beijing that it must stop behaving aggressively against its South China Sea neighbors. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports. Voice of America
Project Babel: how Chinese scientists built the world’s first satellite that makes smartphone calls possible
Now, 16 years on, the project has led to major advances in satellite communication and new trends in mobile phone development. “Tiantong” means “connecting with heaven” and it echoes the biblical story of the Tower of Babel. The first satellite of the Tiantong-1 series was launched on August 6, 2016, with the second and third satellites following in 2020 and 2021. The three form a network in a geosynchronous orbit at an altitude of 36,000km (22,369 miles), covering the entire Asia-Pacific region from the Middle East to the Pacific Ocean.…
Fine porcelain maker Maruwa becomes the hottest bet for cooling AI data centres
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Japanese business & finance myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. A Japanese company with more than two centuries of history in ceramic art and fine porcelain tableware has emerged as a surprise beneficiary of the rise of generative AI, electric vehicles and the technology sector’s intensifying war against heat. Maruwa, which dominates globally in a range of specialist ceramics, has seen its shares almost double over the past year and leap to an all-time high since the start…
US vows ‘ironclad’ defence of Philippines military in South China Sea
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the US-China relations myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. President Joe Biden has told Ferdinand Marcos Jr that the US-Philippines alliance was “ironclad”, stressing that their mutual defence treaty applied to attacks on Filipino armed forces, in a warning to China. Following a bilateral meeting, the White House said the leaders had “underscored their commitment to international law in the South China Sea”. “President Biden reinforced the ironclad US alliance commitment to the Philippines under the US-Philippines Mutual Defense…
‘The old days are no more’: Hong Kong goes quiet as security laws tighten their grip
“Ideas are bulletproof”. Three words, stamped out in multicolour tiles above a doorway, represented one of the last vestiges of Hong Kong’s once vibrant literary spaces. On 31 March, Mount Zero, a beloved independent bookstore in Hong Kong, closed its doors for the final time. Hundreds of Hongkongers came to say goodbye. The bookshop, which opened in 2018, took its slogan from the 2005 film V for Vendetta; the eponymous antihero’s Guy Fawkes mask occasionally appeared during Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests. Mount Zero’s closure, which was announced after what the…
US asks China to tell Iran not to retaliate against Israel
The US has asked China and other countries, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia, to urge Tehran not to launch a retaliatory attack on Israel for its air strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria. US secretary of state Antony Blinken spoke with counterparts, including Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, this week amid mounting concern in Washington of an imminent attack by Iran. “We have also engaged with European allies and partners over the past few days and urged them as well to send a clear message to Iran: that escalation…
Biden, Marcos announce infrastructure plans to counter Chinese projects
washington — Months after Manila withdrew from China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects, Washington announced a set of infrastructure projects in the Philippines, the first under an initiative to accelerate investments in partner countries in the Indo-Pacific. The infrastructure projects, known as PGI Luzon corridor, were announced by U.S. President Joe Biden as he hosted Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House on Thursday. “It means more jobs for people across the entire region,” Biden said. “It means more investment in…
Protocol experts obsess over gifts, gaffes and deliverables as Biden meets Kishida, Marcos Jnr
“They use the summit as an action-forcing event to get good results that can’t be done in the average course of business so that, when the leaders meet, there is something that is impressive to the world community and extremely useful for the bilateral relationship.” 03:45 US, Japan hail upgraded ties, unveil raft of bilateral deals following Biden-Kishida summit US, Japan hail upgraded ties, unveil raft of bilateral deals following Biden-Kishida summit Kishida is the fifth leader to be granted such fulsome honours by Biden’s White House, but there is…
China GDP: what is needed to achieve the ‘very challenging’ 5% economic growth goal for 2024?
Emerging sectors, such as new energy and health services, are supporting growth amid a transition toward a higher-quality economy, but traditional industries are sceptical if they can follow suit. In the past couple of years, the total business revenue has been on the decline, and people are showing a preference for cheaper and lower-end carsHe Bin, car dealer “I’m not even expecting any expansion in business this year. It would satisfy me if it remains at the same level as last year,” said He, who has been in the trade…