Pakistan’s PM says rival Imran Khan is ‘biggest liar on earth’

Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has accused the former premier Imran Khan of being the “the biggest liar on the face of the earth” and injecting poison into society to “dangerously polarise the electorate” after he was toppled from power earlier this year. Speaking in his first interview from Pakistan since he took over as prime minister in April, Sharif, 70, spoke unsparingly of the “damage” that Khan, the former cricket superstar who ruled Pakistan from 2018, had done to the country in both domestic and foreign affairs. Pakistan is…

U.S. Said to Plan New Limits on China’s A.I. and Supercomputing Firms

The Biden administration has faced some criticism that it has moved slowly to curb China’s access to cutting-edge U.S. technology. For many administration officials, China’s recent progress in clearing a key technological hurdle in semiconductor manufacturing underscored the urgent need for more expansive regulation in the industry, people familiar with the discussions said. The export controls are part of a bigger strategy from the Biden administration to starve China of key technologies while pumping money into U.S. chip-making factories. The measures come as Beijing ramps up its aggression toward Taiwan,…

China’s 20th Party Congress: An Upside Scenario

Advertisement Ahead of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s 20th National Congress, which opens on October 16, there is much speculation about who will be appointed to China’s top governing roles. Of particular interest is the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), where Beijing’s most important directives, decisions, and deals are made. But political forecasting is a dicey business. Eurasia Group founder Ian Bremmer once remarked that political science is “bad at prediction” yet can “limit the realm of scenarios.” In that spirit, I will refrain from making a firm prediction and…

700 Malaysian workers stranded, held for ransom in Lao SEZ

Around 700 Malaysian migrant workers are being detained in a China-owned casino and hotel resort in northern Laos, where they face abuse by resort managers demanding a large ransom for their release, according to Lao sources. Lured by promises of employment to the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Bokeo province, most are being put to work as online scammers, with compliance enforced by beatings and torture, sources say. “I see a lot of Malaysian workers in the SEZ,” one Lao worker in the Golden Triangle zone told RFA on…

A U.S. ‘Ships Act’ Would Break China’s Control of the Seas

Soon after President Xi Jinping of China took power, he instructed top Communist Party leaders in a 2013 speech to turn the country into a “maritime superpower.” China already has the world’s largest navy, though its ability to contend with U.S. naval forces remains in doubt. But leaders in Beijing have realized that maritime strength is not measured solely in firepower. Success in commercial shipping would have “great and far-reaching significance” for Chinese national strength and security, Mr. Xi told the Politburo then, reminding the party that throughout history the…

‘Ordinary’ Chinese vase valued at €2,000 sells for almost €8m after bidding war

An “ordinary” Chinese vase put up for auction in France and valued at €2,000 (£1,745) has sold for almost €8m after a ferocious bidding war among buyers convinced it was a rare 18th-century artefact. At the sale in Fontainebleau near Paris, auctioneers were astonished as the offers from about 30 mainly Chinese bidders kept on coming. When the hammer fell the vase had been sold for €7.7m – almost 4,000 times its estimated value. With the seller’s fees, the final purchase price was €9.12m. The tianqiuping-style porcelain was put in…

Taiwan’s Great Reopening

Advertisement On September 29, after weeks of speculation, Premier Su Tseng-chang announced that Taiwan would be reopening borders as of October 13. Visitors from all countries are now able to re-enter Taiwan, with visa-free entry having been gradually restored over the past month for most countries that had such arrangements before COVID-19. Visa-free entry was first restored for the United States, the European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan’s diplomatic allies on September 12. Subsequently, on September 29, visa-free entry was restored for Japan, South Korea, Israel, and other…

High-profile China #MeToo case settled in US out of court

One of China’s biggest and most divisive #MeToo cases, which had been set to play out with extraordinary transparency because of its US location and was closely watched by millions inside China, has been settled out of court. Liu Qiangdong, a 49-year-old online retail billionaire who also goes by Richard Liu and is known as China’s Jeff Bezos, had been accused of sexually assaulting a then 21-year-old Chinese graduate when she was studying at the University of Minnesota and he was visiting on a business trip. Liu has always denied…