The US president, Joe Biden, and Britain’s new prime minister, Rishi Sunak, agreed during talks on Tuesday to work together to support Ukraine and stand up to China, the White House said. They spoke for the first time a few hours after Sunak became Britain’s third prime minister this year, inheriting an economic crisis after the resignation of Liz Truss whose tenure lasted 49 days. Only in recent days has Biden appeared to publicly criticise Truss’s doomed economic strategy, in a rare intervention by the US president. Relations between the…
Day: October 25, 2022
Laos to grant honorary citizenship to foreigners who invest US$1.5 million
Laos will allow foreign nationals to acquire honorary citizenship if they donate and invest roughly U.S. $1.5 million, but critics worry that the program could result in a massive land grab by wealthy Chinese investors. According to Decree No. 14 issued in September, honorary citizens are exempt from visa requirements for entering and exiting the country and may live in Laos permanently. Additionally, they will be able to buy land on state-owned property for a set duration and they can lease public and private land, the Laotian Times reported. To…
Hu Jintao argued about official papers before being escorted out of congress
China’s former leader Hu Jintao was arguing about official papers, moments before he was escorted off the stage at a key Communist party meeting in Beijing, new footage shows. Hu’s apparently reluctant departure from the stage at the 20th congress of the Chinese Communist party (CCP) was a rare moment of unscripted drama at what was otherwise a carefully choreographed week of political theatre. The new footage, shot by Channel News Asia but only released two days after the incident, captures about a minute of discreet, high-level manoeuvring before an…
The Guardian view on climate diplomacy: it’s crunch time – again | Editorial
Less than two weeks before Cop27 opens in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, an outline of what to expect from the negotiations is becoming more distinct. The issue of loss and damage is expected to dominate – as it should. Wealthy countries have broken the promise made in 2009 at Cop15 in Copenhagen. An annual climate finance budget of $100bn was agreed then to help the countries most dangerously exposed to global heating. But contributions have fallen short. The group of countries known as the V20, which includes the…
New footage from China congress fuels questions about why Hu Jintao was hauled out – video
New footage from the Chinese Communist party congress shows a series of interactions related to a file held by Hu Jintao, before the former president was hauled out of the room. Outgoing politburo member Li Zhanshu can be seen pulling a file away from Hu, before Xi Jinping signals to some aides and gives them lengthy instructions. They then turn to Hu, and holding him by his arms remove him from the hall. Chinese media have reported that Hu was taken out of the Great Hall of the People in…
What Institutional Norms Are Left After the 20th Party Congress?
Advertisement Over the past week, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held its 20th Party Congress. At the end, membership of the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), the CCP’s highest political body, was revealed. Unsurprisingly, despite having reached what usually constitutes retirement age, Xi Jinping, 69, stayed on as top leader. Also unsurprising, given their ages, 65-year-old Zhao Leji and 67-year-old Wang Huning likewise continued on the PSC. This is not to say, however, that the 20th Party Congress provided no surprises. Far from it. Visually, the most dramatic surprise was the…
Why People Are Flocking to a Symbol of Taiwan’s Authoritarian Past
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Ringed by barbed wire and high gray walls, and once the site of a secretive military detention center, the museum just south of Taipei makes for a surprising tourist hot spot. The Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park, housed on the campus of a former military school, is a chilling reminder of the excesses of Taiwan’s not-so-distant authoritarian past when its rulers imposed martial law for four decades. The moldering concrete buildings with fading paint were once the site of secret tribunals where political dissidents were tried and…
China shares slide in US as Xi starts historic third term
Although official figures published on Monday showed that the economy grew at a better-than-expected rate between July and September, “there were still signs of stress as consumption has remained weak due to ongoing Covid-19 flare ups and property weakness,” Erin Xin, Greater China economist at HSBC said in a note to investors. BBC