Shares in China’s Evergrande Group have been suspended from trading, the embattled property developer announced on Monday. Evergrande did not give any reason for the suspension but it came amid Chinese media reports that the world’s most indebted developer was ordered by authorities in southern Hainan province to demolish 39 buildings in 10 days because the building permits were illegally obtained. The ordered reportedly concerns the huge Ocean Flower project, which is a resort-style development built on islands off the coast of Hainan, according to the Chinese news outlet Cailian.…
Day: January 2, 2022
3 Challenges for Chinese Foreign Policy in 2022
Advertisement 2021 was a largely successful year for Chinese foreign policy, due to China’s effective control of the COVID-19 crisis domestically, stable economic growth, and active participation in global governance, particularly in the area of climate change. As Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently commented in his overview of the year, “We celebrated the centenary of the Communist Party of China and embarked on a new journey for the second centenary. Drawing strength from its achievements in the past century, China’s diplomacy has forged ahead bravely in the game of…
China: Why some think “small eyes” are not beautiful
Experts have also pointed out that traditional standards of beauty in China had in fact favoured narrow eyes. For example, paintings from what is widely considered as China’s golden age for art and culture, the Tang Dynasty period from 618 to 907 AD, prominently featured women with long, narrow eyes. BBC
Your Monday Briefing: South Africa’s Parliament Burns
Good morning. We’re covering a fire in South Africa’s Parliament, a breach in the Demilitarized Zone between North Korea and South Korea, and possible changes to women’s rights in China. South Africa’s parliament burns A large fire damaged much of the Houses of Parliament on Sunday. Officials warned that the damage to the historic complex would be extensive. Officials said the fire spread from an office space on the third floor of a building adjacent to the old National Assembly building. Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Service spokesman warned that…
Hong Kong’s Citizen News to close citing fears for staff safety
The Hong Kong independent online news portal Citizen News has said it will cease operations from Tuesday in the face of what it described as a deteriorating media environment in the Chinese-ruled city and to ensure the safety of its staff. “Regrettably, the rapid changes in society and worsening environment for media make us unable to achieve our goal fearlessly. Amid this crisis, we have to first make sure everyone on the boat is safe,” Citizen News, which was established in 2017, said in a statement. Pro-democracy activists and rights…
China Moves to Overhaul Protections for Women’s Rights, Sort Of
The announcement was presented — in official news reports, on social media — as a major victory for Chinese women. The government was set to overhaul its law governing women’s rights for the first time in decades, to refine the definition of sexual harassment, affirm prohibitions on workplace discrimination and ban forms of emotional abuse. For many women in China, the response was: Hm, really? The proposed revisions are the latest in a series of conflicting messages by the Chinese government about the country’s growing feminist movement. On paper, the…