Beijing drops some Covid tests as capital ‘readies itself for life again’

Beijing has dropped the need for people to show negative Covid tests to enter supermarkets and offices, the latest in an easing of curbs across China after historic protests. “Beijing readies itself for life again” read a headline in the government-owned China Daily newspaper, adding that people were “gradually embracing” the slow return to normality. Further loosening beckons after a string of demonstrations marked the biggest show of public discontent in mainland China since Xi Jinping became president in 2012. “This might be the first step towards reopening from this…

Analysis: Xi Expected to Speak at Memorial for China’s Former Leader Jiang Zemin

Taipei, Taiwan —  China’s leader Xi Jinping, under pressure for continuing his signature “zero-COVID policy” in the face of rare, widespread protests, is expected to speak at the Tuesday morning memorial service for former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Jiang Zemin. Analysts say Jiang’s death may deflect attention from the protests although some added that the passing of the relatively liberal Jiang invites comparison with the increasingly authoritarian rule of Xi, elected to a historic third term as the Communist Party’s leader in October. The zero-COVID policy with lockdowns, daily…

Is China’s Health Care System Ready for the End of Zero-COVID?

Hong Kong —  More Chinese cities have been announcing an easing of curbs following unprecedented protests against the harsh “zero-COVID” policies in China last weekend. But loosening harsh quarantine policies brings other risks, as health experts warn China must boost vaccination rates, especially among the elderly, and prepare hospitals and medical staff or risk a massive number of deaths. Ben Cowling, chair professor of epidemiology at the University of Hong Kong’s School of Public Health, said other countries have experiences Beijing can learn from. “Until recently, they haven’t been thinking…

China holds state funeral for late president Jiang Zemin

China will pay tribute to former president Jiang Zemin today with a funeral at the Great Hall of the People. The service for Jiang, who died of multiple organ failure in Shanghai last week aged 96, will be the biggest event of its kind since the funeral for paramount leader Deng Xiaoping in 1997. As the first major state event since October’s Communist Party national congress, all eyes will be on how President Xi Jinping will honour Jiang. Observers will also be watching to see whether Hu Jintao, Xi’s predecessor,…

‘Now I see it’s not just me who’s angry’: readers in China on wave of protests

People living in China have expressed feelings of shock at the eruption of protests last week, with hopes that they continue, mixed with reservations about how successful they can be expected to be in challenging the one-party system. The protests have led to a shift in China’s zero-Covid policy, with the government staging an abrupt turnaround to emphasise the virus’s reduced severity as well as pushing vaccination and personal mitigation measures. Scores of people from across the country contacted the Guardian via a callout to share their reaction to the…

Shrouded in secrecy: the Australian trial of a former Marines pilot facing extradition to the US

Planes are Daniel Duggan’s passion. His professional life has been spent flying military aircraft and training others. His social media is filled, almost exclusively, with videos of aircraft from around the world. But a man so often untethered to the ground has now spent 45 days in segregated and high-security custody in New South Wales. He still does not know the charges against him. The arrest of Daniel Edmund Duggan, an Australian citizen and former US Marines fighter pilot, on secret charges is a “politically motivated injustice”, his wife has…

More than a dozen Rohingya found dead in Myanmar’s Yangon region

Authorities in Myanmar have launched an investigation after a group of women on their way to the market in Yangon region made a gruesome discovery early on Monday morning – 13 broken and waterlogged corpses believed to be members of the Rohingya ethnic group. The bodies were found near a trash pile in Hlegu township’s Ngwe Nant Thar village around 3:00 a.m., an eyewitness told RFA Burmese on condition of anonymity, citing security concerns. “They are definitely not from this village,” the witness said, adding that the victims appeared to…

A year on, Laotians say high-speed rail link with China has brought them few benefits

A year ago, a U.S.$6 billion high-speed railway was completed between Laos and China amid much fanfare and hopes that it would fuel exports from Laos and spur growth in the impoverished, landlocked country. But one year later, most of the trade has been one-way: from China, which exports machinery, auto parts, electronics and consumer goods, sources in Laos tell Radio Free Asia. Laotian exports, hindered by China’s strict COVID policies at the border and other structural barriers, have made up just a small fraction by comparison. “The Laos-China train…

China Begins to Revive Arctic Scientific Ground Projects After Setbacks

WASHINGTON —  Beijing is taking its first steps toward recovering from years of setbacks to its scientific, land-based projects in the Arctic, sending personnel to two outposts that have been vital to its policy of establishing China as a “near-Arctic” state. China’s Arctic policy document, published in 2018, said scientific research to “explore and understand” the Arctic is the “priority and focus” of Chinese participation in Arctic affairs. Over a 14-year period since 2004, China launched scientific projects in Arctic regions of four Western European nations — Norway, Iceland, Sweden…

Hong Kong protest song played in error at Dubai weightlifting event

Organizers of a Dubai weightlifting competition played a banned Hong Kong protest song instead of China’s national anthem during a medal ceremony, as the city’s organized crime squad investigates a similar incident at a sporting event in South Korea. “Glory to Hong Kong,” the anthem of the 2019 democracy movement that ranged from mass, peaceful demonstrations for full democracy to intermittent, pitched battles between “front-line” protesters and armed riot police, was banned in 2020 as Beijing imposed a draconian national security law on the city. The anthem, which calls for…