BANGKOK – Three Uyghur men with Kyrgyz passports who languished in Thai detention for more than a decade were resettled in Canada earlier this month, an advocacy group said Monday, avoiding the fate of dozens of Uygurs deported from Thailand to China. The men were among more than 300 Uyghurs who fled China in 2014, where the ethnic minority faces sustained persecution, only to be apprehended by authorities in Thailand, setting off a prolonged tug-of-war over their fate. As recently as February, Thailand deported 40 Uyghur men to China, triggering…
Day: April 28, 2025
More Chinese leave the knot untied as marriage registrations drop
As marriage registrations in China continued to decline in the first quarter of the year, local governments have dangled cash rewards as high as 40,000 yuan (US$5,487) in front of young couples in a bid to rekindle the will to wed and stave off the worst of a demographic crisis. Advertisement In the first three months of 2025, 1.81 million couples registered for marriage, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said last week. This represents a decrease of 159,000 couples compared to the same period last year for an 8 per…
How a fiery conquest in 112BC may have led to decline of the Chinese swamp cypress
A new study has corroborated an account of the Han conquest of the Nanyue kingdom in southern China (203-111BC) by ancient historian Sima Qian. Advertisement The researchers also linked the watershed military campaign to the decline of the Chinese swamp cypress, a tree species which is now critically endangered. Geological evidence, pollen analysis and historical records were analysed to determine how the Han dynasty’s riverine warfare tactics reshaped history and the Pearl River Delta’s ecosystem more than 2,100 years ago. The findings of the study – led by Sun Weidong…
Met police ‘maintain concerns’ about China super-embassy plan
China’s proposed “super-embassy” in London would require additional police officers to deal with any large protests involving thousands of people, the Metropolitan police have said before a decision by ministers. Despite having dropped its official objection to the proposals, the Met “maintains concerns” that large protests of more than 500 people outside the embassy would impede traffic and “require additional police resource”, said the deputy assistant commissioner Jon Savell In a letter sent to the former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith and to the Home Office earlier this month, Savell…
China says it can live without US farm and energy goods
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Chinese economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. China’s top economic officials said the country could do without American farm and energy imports as they vowed to achieve a 5 per cent GDP growth target for the year despite the trade war with the US. Zhao Chenxin, vice chair of the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s state planner, said domestic farm and energy production, along with imports from non-US sources, would be more than enough to satisfy…
Absence of China’s top general He Weidong from Politburo study session fuels speculation
China’s top general He Weidong missed another top political gathering on Friday amid speculation about his whereabouts over the past few weeks. Advertisement Beijing has not offered an official explanation for his absence, although his absence is not expected to affect China’s political stability, according to an analyst. He, the second-ranked vice-chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC) and one of the 24-member of the Communist Party Politburo, last appeared in public on March 11. He was absent from a Politburo study session presided over by Chinese President Xi…
UK banks brace for first-quarter reports after Trump tariff turmoil
UK banks’ earnings reports will be studied this week for signs of turmoil linked to Donald Trump’s tariff drama, with uncertainty over global growth likely to weigh on lenders with heavy exposure to China, including HSBC. First-quarter profits only reflect the January-to-March period that preceded the US president’s “liberation day” tariff announcements on 2 April. But investors will be concerned about any hints of caution around earnings forecasts, as well as an uptick in money put aside for defaults by tariff-hit borrowers. The issue is expected to divide UK lenders…
FirstFT: Drop in Chinese goods at US ports as importers respond to Trump’s tariffs
This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters here Today’s agenda: China stockpiles oil; Trump criticises Putin; the era of autonomous strike drones; visual story on iPhone components; and “headphone dodgers” Good morning. We start the week with a look at how Donald Trump’s trade war, in particular his 145 per cent tariff on Chinese goods, has started to affect US ports and air…
Japan shares surge after Toyota spurs hopes for wider corporate shake-up
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Shares in a swath of companies surged in Tokyo on Monday after a $42bn plan to take car parts maker Toyota Industries private triggered hopes of a wider overhaul of Japan’s corporate landscape. Akio Toyoda, grandson of Toyota’s founder, is leading the buyout proposal, according to people close to the discussions, which has prompted shares to soar in numerous other companies linked to the carmaker. Investors are placing bets on subsidiaries…
Shares surge as Toyota $42bn move for subsidiary spurs hopes for Japan corporate shake-up
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Japanese business & finance myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Shares in a swath of companies surged in Tokyo on Monday after a $42bn plan to take car parts maker Toyota Industries private triggered hopes of a wider overhaul of Japan’s corporate landscape. Akio Toyoda, grandson of Toyota’s founder, is leading the buyout proposal, according to people close to the discussions, which has prompted shares to soar in numerous other companies linked to the carmaker. Investors are placing bets…