China is set for the return of more heatwaves over the next 10 days, with temperatures set to start spiking in parts of the country on Saturday. Some coastal cities are already on their highest alert level and inland regions warning of dam failure risks because of melting glaciers. This Saturday is the day of the “big heat” in the Chinese Almanac based on the lunar calendar. The hot spell was expected to be similar in scope as heatwaves from 5-17 July, but more regions could be hit by temperatures…
Month: July 2022
China’s Military Aid Is Probably Less Than You Think
Advertisement The central role of Western military aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia has highlighted military aid as a critical part of broader U.S. security cooperation efforts. Amid strategic competition with China, one might assume that Beijing would have a large military aid program as part of its own approach to winning friends and influence through military diplomacy, its somewhat analogous version of security cooperation. That might not be a safe assumption. A new RAND report explores security cooperation by the United States, China, and Russia amidst strategic competition and finds…
Weather tracker: record-breaking heat continues to scorch western Europe
Record-breaking heat continued to affect parts of western Europe during the past week, with UK temperatures exceeding 40C (104F) for the first time since records began. On Tuesday, several weather stations across London, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire broke the 40C barrier, with a top temperature of 40.3C in Coningsby, Lincolnshire. A further 39 stations across central and southern England also broke the previous highest temperature of 38.7C, which was set in July 2019. The central England temperature (CET), which is a daily temperature record dataset dating back to 1772, recorded the…
Japan sees increasing threat to Taiwan amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Japan’s defence ministry has said it is alarmed at fresh threats from Russia and has growing worries about Taiwan, in an annual report that comes as Tokyo considers significantly increasing military spending. The document includes a chapter on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which it says risks sending the message “that an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force is acceptable”. The paper, released on Friday, surveys the global security landscape and specific threats to Japan, and says there was concern Russia could “further enhance and deepen relationships with…
Hong Kong’s New Cybercrime Law Consultation
Advertisement This week the Cybercrime Subcommittee of the Law Reform Commission (LRC) in Hong Kong published a consultation paper on cybercrimes and related jurisdictional issues, setting in motion what will likely be a series of legislations of new laws and amendments in the reformed “patriots-ruled” territory under the People’s Republic of China. The move should come as no surprise. After all, many other jurisdictions around the world have legislated cybercrime in various shapes and forms in recent years. As technology advances, news laws try to catch up. The LRC’s Cybercrime…
How Uyghurs became so good at English
When president xi jinping visited the region of Xinjiang this month, he painted China as a tolerant, multi-ethnic country. Never mind that after Mr Xi’s last visit, in 2014, China launched a campaign of mass detentions and unprecedented surveillance to quell resistance among local Uyghurs. More than 1m of them have been detained, often simply for being devout Muslims. Listen to this story.Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or Android. Your browser does not support the <audio> element. Listen to this story Save time by listening to our audio…
The trade war within China
Although many are embarrassed to admit it, foreign correspondents learn a lot from taxi drivers. In China economic correspondents can also learn a lot from the taxis themselves. Most cabs in Beijing are Hyundai Elantras. In Shanghai they are often the Volkswagen Touran or Passat. And in Wuhan they are commonly Citroën Elysées. In each case, the explanation is the same. These foreign brands have joint ventures with local state-owned carmakers that the city government is keen to champion—even if it is at the expense of other carmakers and their…
Talk of Nancy Pelosi visiting Taiwan angers China
The last time a Speaker of America’s House of Representatives visited Taiwan, the Chinese government could do little more than grumble. Newt Gingrich, who held the position from 1995 to 1999, stopped over in 1997 and met the island’s president at the time, Lee Teng-hui. A few days earlier Mr Gingrich had visited China and warned its leaders that America would intervene if they invaded Taiwan, which China claims. “ok, noted,” he described them as responding. “Since we don’t intend to attack, you won’t have to defend.” Listen to this…
New subvariants are the latest challenge to China’s zero-covid policy
In early july Steven Ho, a lawmaker in Hong Kong, tested positive for covid-19. That is hardly news in a city reporting some 3,000 new cases a day. But two days earlier Mr Ho had stood just metres away from Xi Jinping, China’s president. Mr Ho would have been tested and made to quarantine before seeing Mr Xi. Still, the virus (which is not detectable right away) probably entered the room with Mr Ho. Listen to this story.Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or Android. Your browser does not…
Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan trip ‘not a good idea right now’, says Biden
Joe Biden has cautioned against the reported trip to Taiwan next month by the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, saying the US military had assessed “it is not a good idea right now”. The Financial Times reported earlier this week that Pelosi would lead a delegation to Taiwan in August to show support for the democratically ruled island, which Beijing claims is a breakaway province. The trip was initially scheduled for April but was postponed due to Pelosi testing positive for Covid at the time. “Well, I think that the military…