Hong Kong lawmakers pass new measures to quash dissent

Hong Kong lawmakers have passed a new national security law that grants the government more power to quash dissent, widely seen as the latest step in a sweeping political crackdown that was triggered by pro-democracy protests in 2019. The legislature passed the safeguarding national security bill during a special session on Tuesday. It comes on top of a similar law imposed by Beijing four years ago, which has already largely silenced opposition voices in the financial hub. Hong Kong’s legislative council, which is packed with Beijing loyalists after an electoral…

Killing of teenager in China sparks debate about ‘left behind’ children

The killing of a 13-year-old boy in northern China last week, for which three boys are in police custody, has triggered a heated discussion in the media on juvenile crime and the plight of children left at home by migrant workers. Police arrested three boys and took them into custody after they allegedly bullied and killed the junior high school student in the small city of Handan, in Hebei province, on 10 March, and then buried him in a shallow pit, state media reported. So far, no charges have been…

In the busy waters between China and Taiwan, the de facto border is being tested

Motoring across the calm waters of the South China Sea, Taiwanese captain Lu Wen-shiung recalls the old days, when Chinese and Taiwanese fishers used to meet behind rocky headlands, anchoring their boats out of the authorities’ sight, to share a meal. There was less surveillance then, and the two sides were more friendly, fishing the same waters, occasionally selling to each other on the sly. “We were like brothers, we had a good relationship, they would even cook for us,” he says. “But … now the control has become more…

World’s largest solar manufacturer to cut one-third of workforce

The world’s largest solar manufacturer has slashed nearly a third of its workforce after a cost-cutting drive that included telling staff to only print in black and white fell short and as a chill ripples through the renewable energy sector. China’s Longi is to cut as much as 30% of its workforce, in an acceleration of cost reductions that began late last year, Bloomberg reported. It is unclear exactly how many jobs will be lost at the company, which employed 80,000 at its peak last year, as an internal function…

CATL, the little-known Chinese battery maker that has the US worried

The world’s two superpowers are so intricately linked that it’s hard to think of a pillar of the economy that hasn’t been strained by tensions between the US and China. And the next frontline in the economic conflict may be the most fundamental yet: a fight for power itself. A Chinese company that most people have never heard of is at the heart of the global race to store the clean energy needed to power the green transition in the US and the rest of the world. China’s Contemporary Amperex…

Tuvalu prime minister calls on Australia for sovereignty ‘guarantees’ over treaty

Tuvalu’s new prime minister, Feleti Teo, wants “guarantees” from Canberra that a landmark treaty with Australia will not undermine his country’s sovereignty. Teo, who was appointed leader last month, told the Guardian a controversial security clause in the Falepili Union treaty has led to fears among Tuvaluans that Australia “might encroach on Tuvalu’s sovereignty”. The treaty, signed in late 2023, states that the Pacific nation shall “mutually agree with Australia” on partnerships or arrangements with other states on security and defence-related matters. The clause in effect gives Australia veto power…

Hong Kong court jails 12 for storming parliament in pro-democracy protests

A Hong Kong court has sentenced 12 people to jail terms of up to almost seven years in a high-profile rioting case linked to the storming of the city legislature during a pro-democracy protest in 2019. The incident was a pivotal moment in the months-long protests that embroiled the territory in the boldest populist uprising against Chinese Communist party rule since the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing. Demonstrators broke into Hong Kong’s legislative council building on 1 July 2019, smashing windows and streaming inside as public anger mounted over…

Apple to pay $490m to settle claims it misled investors over sales in China

Apple has agreed to pay $490m to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging chief executive Tim Cook misled investors about a steep downturn in iPhone’s sales in China that culminated in a jarring revision to the company’s revenue forecast. The preliminary settlement filed Friday in Oakland, California, federal court stems from a shareholder lawsuit focused on the way Apple relayed information about how iPhone models released in September 2018 were performing in China, one of the company’s biggest markets. Cook signaled that the new iPhones were off to a good start…

China Nobel prize winner tarred as one of ‘three new evils’ amid rise in nationalist fervour

At first glance, a Nobel prize winning author, a bottle of green tea and Beijing’s Tsinghua University have little in common. But in recent weeks they have been dubbed by China’s nationalist netizens as the “three new evils” in the fight to defend the country’s valour in cyberspace. Last month a patriotic blogger called Wu Wanzheng filed a lawsuit against China’s only Nobel prize-winning author, Mo Yan, accusing him of smearing the Communist army and glorifying Japanese soldiers in his fictional works set during the Japanese invasion of China. Wu,…

Honda and Nissan join forces on electric car technology to chase Chinese rivals

Honda and Nissan have put aside the “traditional approach” of fierce rivalry to join forces and work together on electric vehicle technology as Japan’s carmakers try to catch up with Chinese competitors. The Japanese manufacturers will work together on technology for EVs, including components and software, after signing a memorandum of understanding on Friday. Honda and Nissan, respectively the country’s second- and third-largest carmakers behind Toyota, aim to cut costs by combining resources. Traditional manufacturers are struggling to compete profitably with upstart rivals as the electric vehicle sector grows rapidly,…